Hero's Legacy
by John Riehle
Summary: A new, or rather old, villain has come to town, and she's demanding a showdown... with the Fearless Ferret!
1. Morning at the Movies

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Welcome to the opening chapter (I know it's a little short, just wait for the next one) of Hero's Legacy, sequal to Dark Legacy. Hope you enjoy! Leave a review, get a response.

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"This is so cool. Socoolsocoolsocoolsocool!" Ron Stoppable jumped in his place as he stood anxiously in line. Next to him, his girlfriend and best friend Kim Possible let out a wide yawn, desperately attempting to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"How can you go all night without sleep and still be this excited?" She asked over her yawn even as she looked behind them at the seemingly endless line of likewise eager, sleep deprived fans, all sporting similar clothing.

"KP, we're talking about the Fearless Ferret movie! An event like this only comes once in a hundred lifetimes!" Ron insisted even as he anxiously checked his watch, counting down the seconds till the ticket stand would open to sell for the premiere.

"I hope you mean that." Kim checked her watch, counting down seconds until she could wake up from this nightmare and plop down on her soft, warm, comfortable… sweet… relaxing… bed…zzz

"KP!" Ron's jab to Kim's side brought her sagging head immediately back upright catching her attention rather suddenly. "Come on, you don't want to miss this."

"Ron, why again do you need me here for this?" Kim tried to ask while sparing his feelings. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy hanging out with Ron, but she needed her beauty sleep, and standing in line for over twelve hours before the opening of the local theatre complex was not conducive to that need.

"Once in a hundred lifetimes event, KP." Ron reiterated. "Don't you want to be able to look back and say, when the Fearless Ferret premiered, you were there! When legions of loyal ferret fans gathered to honor their hero, you were there, and when it came time for those fans to show their worth, you were there!" Ron declared proudly, his voice rising just a little too high for Kim's taste. At the rising of Ron's voice, Rufus popped out of his resting place in Ron's pocket to salute smartly.

"It doesn't quite top my list of life goals." Kim admitted over another yawn as she continued to look up and down the line in disbelief. The premiere was still five days away and yet the fans were already dressed to impress in assorted Fearless Ferret merchandise and costumes. The line looked more like a convention, and more than a few fans were hoping in their place with such eagerness that one would almost expect Timothy North himself to make an appearance.

Such was the collection of rodent related clothing that no one really played much mind to the woman in the strange squirrel themed costumed as she walked down the line past Kim and Ron.

"Hey, you can't cut." A high pitched, nasal voiced young man in a ferret mask complained as he yelled at the passing young woman. At more than fifty pounds overweight, and dressed in a ferret t-shirt that was far too tight on him, he was hardly the picture of intimidation. "I've been waiting here since last night.

In response, the girl turned sharply towards him with a glare that screamed hostile intent.

"I-I warn you, I've got my own Ferret claw." But before the young man could draw his plastic weapon, the woman quickly grabbed him in place, picking him up as if he were a rag doll and then throwing him into the air, to sail past and over several other eager fans.

"These fans really take this seriously." Kim observed, more than a little concerned about the line between horseplay and civil violence.

"There's always one to ruin it for everyone." Ron noted sourly.

"No one tells me what to do." The young lady, thin and slender within her skin tight outfit complete with mask and a large puffy tail, a hint of smooth brown hair hanging from beneath her mask, declared as she rose upright. "… for I am Squirrel Girl!"

This proud declaration, obviously one of authority and power, did little to faze the audience of distracted ferret fans, save for a few who obviously mistook the act of violence for some sort of live action role playing and an invitation to participate.

"Oh yeah. Come on guys," the first of five with matching Fearless Ferret face paint and brown shirts declared as they stepped forward. "Let's show her what the Ferret Five are capable of."

"The Ferret Five?" Ron looked on in confusion. "I don't remember them."

"We are an original team dedicated to the sspirit and ssoul of the Fearlessss Ferret." The one closest to Ron spoke through his braces, his saliva slipping across his lips as he spoke.

"Charming." Kim maintained her wary focus on the one calling herself Squirrel Girl, even as she wiped imperceptible spit from her shirt.

"The Ferret Five'. What a joke." Squirrel Girl pressed out a seemingly forced laugh, certainly not the most villainous Kim and Ron had ever heard, even as she lashed out. Had the two not known better, they might have assumed Shego was underneath that squirrel costume as the villainess ably leapt into the air, kicking one of the five over confident ferret fans to the ground, landing, sweeping two more off their feet, then rising, and slamming the remaining two's heads together. "Who's next?" She asked triumphantly.

"That would be me." Kim had had enough watching on the sides as she leapt out in front of the costumed villainess. Whatever was going, and certainly she had long since lost track, it was well past harmless horseplay. "Now, I think we've all gotten a little overexcited, so why don't we just settle down here. I'm sure there will be plenty of tickets for the premiere for everyone."

"Kim, what are you doing?" Ron called out to his girlfriend.

"Relax Ron; I think I can handle this." Kim assured, touched by her boyfriend's concern.

"No, you got out of line! I can't just let you back in, there are rules." Ron explained desperately, even as he watched for the imagined, disapproving looks from the other Fearless Ferret fans.

"Ron! We've got a bit of a sitch here." Kim indicated to the patiently waiting Squirrel Girl.

"I'll show you what you've got." Squirrel Girl snarled as her foot flew through the air in the form of a roundhouse kick towards Kim. The red head quickly dodged the attack, before retaliating with one of her own.

Throughout the entire line, hoots and hollers of cheer rose up as the two young women exchanged fast attacks and blocks.

"Woo-hoo! Cat fight." One fan exclaimed.

"Hey, that's my girlfriend!" Ron bit back defensively.

"Your girlfriend is Squirrel Girl!" The heavily acned fan in front of Ron proclaimed. "Wow, you must be one of the luckiest guys ever."

"Well yeah, but I'm not dating Squirrel Girl, I'm dating Kim!"

"Who?" The young man asked.

"Kim. Kim Possible." Ron clarified incredulously.

"Never heard of her."

"Super hero. Saves the world."

"Was she in one of the early episodes?" The fan probed.

"She's not a TV character. She's a real life super hero. She's the best!" Ron could scarcely believe he was having this conversation.

"Uhh, excuse me. I'm sure your little girlfriend is impressive… by amateur status," the young fan added snidely, his nostrils flaring just a little too widely as he spoke, "but the greatest super hero of all time is clearly the Fearless Ferret."

"Is not!"

"Is too! Does your girlfriend have her own cave?"

Ron was about to retort, until the question repeated itself in his mind, quieting him into thought. "Well, she means well…"

"Ron!" Kim cried out in frustration, obviously having overheard the conversation, even as leapt through the air with Squirrel Girl close behind her. Who would have thought anyone who dressed up like a rodent could fight this well? She may have looked ridiculous, but with moves like hers, she could have easily passed for a student of Yamanouchi.

"Well KP, maybe it's time we looked into a cave lair." Ron shouted the suggestion as the pair leapt past.

"Enough!" Squirrel Girl shouted as she landed. "This is beneath me. I came here to find the Fearless Ferret, and I will not allow myself to be distracted any further by children pretending to be heroes."

"I so do not pretend." Kim verbally pounced at the accusation.

"Yeah, she even has her own website." Ron shouted out from his place in line.

"The Fearless Ferret had his own symbol light!" The acned fan in front of Ron reminded, rehashing their original argument.

"That is so not important right now dude." Ron bit back.

"Yeah." Rufus chattered in support.

"I said enough!" Squirrel Girl seemed to reach back behind her, possibly even within her fluffy tail, before retrieving a matching pair. "Acorns of doom!"

Kim went wide eyed at the declaration. "Acorns?"

"Doom?" Rufus' confusion matched Kim's.

"Oh my god, she has a tail!" Ron noticed.

"Catch." The costumed villainess hurled the grenade sized acorns out, both exploding on impact as they landed precious feet away from Kim. All at once, the until-now docile and apathetic hordes of ferret fans began to scatter in panic. Kim tried to hold her place, but the mobs of panic, prepubescent teenagers almost trampled her where she stood.

Kim looked over the horde to see the figure of Squirrel Girl as she winked amusedly at Kim. And then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

As the crowds disappeared and the area cleared, Kim looked far and wide, letting out a frustrated sigh. It seemed there was no sign of her foe.

"Hey Kim, check it out!" Ron called out as he now stood unopposed in front of the ticket stand. "First place in line!"


	2. Tails of a Villain

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay everyone, but thanks so much to everyone who has written in and reviewed. I hope this doesn't come to late for you. As always, write a review, get a response.

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"Well, it's official." Wade said over the line of the Kimmunicator. "You guys can't even go to the movies without tripping over a super villain."

"Your sympathy is heartwarming." Kim let out dryly as she watched the police role up lines of yellow tape around the scene of their latest crime.

"So, she was really dressed like a squirrel?" Wade asked, making sure he had heard Kim correctly.

"Yep." Kim replied, still in disbelief over the matter herself.

"Tail. Acorns. Yeah, definitely had a squirrel vibe there." Ron chipped in. He had not moved one inch from the theatre window, steadfast in his determination. "Although that is a new one for us, you gotta admit. I mean monkeys, rampaging kangaroos that one time, Gemini's freaky dog thing and all sorts of really freaky DNAmy specials, but no squirrels anywhere in there. We've definitely charted a new section of the villain's animal kingdom KP."

"Yet another of my life goals satisfied and all in the same day." Kim could not restrain her grim sarcasm. Somehow, thoughts of going home to her warm bed seemed to dance further and further off into the distance, waving farewell to her as they passed.

"Well I got some footage of the attack." Wade offered, trying to be helpful. "Don't know if it's anything you guys don't already know."

After the press of a few choice buttons on Wade's computer console, the image on the screen of the Kimmunicator changed to a traffic camera's replay of the disturbance. Kim still refused to believe that she had actually had to fight as hard as she had against someone with a tail on their costume.

"You know, one of these days KP, we have got to find out where our super villains get their outfits made. I mean granted, fashion isn't really my thing, but please… a tail."

Kim's eyes suddenly widened at Ron's proclamation. "Wait a second, Ron I think you're onto something."

"Yeah, I mean look at Shego. You know, I get that green is her thing and all, but she could spruce up the design a little."

"This coming from the guy who wore purple trousers when he was a super villain." Wade observed over the Kimmunicator.

"Hey, as I recall, you were the one who picked out that costume." Ron bit back defensively.

"Gentlemen." Kim interrupted. "Could we please get back to the fashion disasters of the criminally insane another time?"

"But I thought you said I was onto something?" Ron asked in confusion.

"You were, but not about Shego." Kim turned back to the image on the Kimmunicator. "Wade, what do you think of that costume that Squirrel Girl is wearing?"

"Hmm." Wade paused for a moment, examining the images on his computer monitor. "It actually looks pretty professional. Nylon fibers, definite grade 'A' stitch work. It could even be the genuine article."

"Genuine article?" Kim asked.

"The original costume of the original Squirrel Girl from the Fearless Ferret TV series." Wade explained with growing excitement.

"You mean there actually was a super villain called 'Squirrel Girl'?" Kim refused to believe this as she turned questioningly back to Ron. "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"Uh, duh KP. Everyone knows about Squirrel Girl. She was one of the Fearless Ferret's greatest enemies." Ron explained, stunned that he actually had to describe this to his girlfriend.

"It's hard to be sure." Wade piped back in. "But the costume she's wearing in this footage looks to be an almost flawless match to the original costume from the TV series. It even has the exact same dimensions."

"Then if we track down what happened to the costume from the series, we can find who this Squirrel Girl is." Kim concluded aloud. "Wade…"

"I'm on it." After another few choice keystrokes. "It looks like the costume was bought by the original actress to play Squirrel Girl after the show was cancelled." Another few keystrokes produced an image of a young to mid-aged woman with brown hair. "Karen Currage."

"The Karen Currage?" Kim asked. "She was one of the principle voices of female equality back in the seventies and eighties."

"She was also an actress, or at least she was for the few years that the Fearless Ferret series was on the air." Wade typed some more, producing another picture of the same woman, now clearly much older, at least in her fifties, her face well aged by only one or two wrinkles while her hair had begun to grey in certain areas.

"Got a current address?"

"Believe it or not, she's a local." Wade pulled up the information. "Got the address."

"Great. So we've got another White Stripe on our hands. Guess Rudolph Farnsworth wasn't the only one clinging to the past." Kim noted bitterly, even as she grabbed Ron's arm, dragging him with her. "Come on Ron."

"What? But… tickets. KP, tickets! NO." Ron screeched and hollered as he was dragged off.

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Kim tapped at the door with the classical gold painted knocker, after doing a quick double check on the address.

"Lunch at Bueno Nacho says she shows up still in the costume." Kim offered to Ron.

"I say the front door is booby trapped and the entire house is redecorated to look like some evil lair." Ron replied.

The sea blue front door swung open, revealing an older woman dressed in a thick white sweater and jeans. She looked to be at least ten years younger than her biography insisted and in nothing short of fantastic shape. The picture Wade had shown them didn't do her justice.

"Hello? Can I help you?" She asked politely, smiling at the young pair on her doorstep.

"No costume." Ron noted aloud.

Kim rushed the older woman's confused expression, jabbing gently at Ron's side as she asked "Karen Currage?"

"Why yes. And you are?"

"I'm Kim Possible. This is my partner Ron Stoppable. Could we talk to you?" She asked, still trying to hide her expectations of flying Acorns of Doom.

"Why of course. Would you like to come in?" She offered politely, stepping back inside. Kim and Ron looked at each other in slight disbelief before stepping inside.

"Definitely not an evil lair." Kim noted as she took in the decorum. Straight from the pages of "Home America", the house was the model of American suburbia. Kim was reminded very much of her own home as she took a seat on the large couch with Ron next to her.

"Cookies?" Karen came back into the room, offering a plate to the young pair. "They're store bought," she admitted slightly sheepishly as she set the plate down and took a seat opposite Kim and Ron on a rocking chair. "I'm not much for baking."

"Ooh, chocolate chip." Ron roughly grabbed a handful, oblivious to the crumbs he spilled around himself as he stuffed his mouth full in one swift motion. "Whhuht?" He asked, spilling more crumbs as Kim looked at him in disbelief.

"Oh boy. Cookies." Rufus noted, his nose having guided him from his resting place in Ron's pocket up for some fresh air, diving into the remnants of the plate, finishing it off without missing a crumb.

"Uhmm, Ms. Currage." Kim tried to remember her manners before their host.

"Please, call me Karen." The older lady insisted with a smile.

"Ok, Karen. First, let me say what an honor it is to meet you." Kim couldn't help herself as she began to gush. "I've read so much about your work in the seventies. I mean, you've organized so many walks for Women's Rights, you've done so much for education reform, you even stood before Congress and…"

"Are you a super villain?" Ron interrupted Kim's tirade, drawing astonished looks from both ladies in the room.

"Ron." Kim whispered harshly, slapping at his side again.

Kim was stopped from saying anything else by a chuckle from the woman sitting opposite them. "You must be a Fearless Ferret fan." Karen noted with an amused grin.

"Loyal Ferrets since age four." Ron saluted proudly.

"Uh-huh. To the end." Rufus squeaked, mirroring Ron's salute.

Kim turned to Karen apologetically, but her grin didn't falter in the slightest as she laughed softly to herself. "Oh my goodness. All these years and people still remember Squirrel Girl. Oh, that seems like a lifetime ago." She smiled nostalgically as she leaned back in her seat.

"Ms. Currage, I understand that you kept the costume from the show after it was cancelled." Kim asked.

"Actually, it was a gift. Timothy North gave it to me so that I'd have something to remember the show by, though just between us, I think Tim had a hard time letting go of the show. I heard some crazy rumors years later that he'd actually had a cave dug out underneath his home."

Kim and Ron shot each other wide glances, silently agreeing not to say anything else before Kim asked. "Could we see the original Squirrel Girl costume?"

Karen hesitated for a moment before answering "Oh I'm sorry. I'm afraid I sold it on eBid years ago. It was a nice sentimental reminder but I just thought it was time to put it all behind me. Besides, I'm ashamed to say that marching and talking before Congress don't actually pay as well as I might like."

"I don't suppose you know who you sold it too?" Kim asked.

"Sorry." Karen replied. "I think all I ever got was a screen name and an email address. But their credit rating was good and their check cleared. I'm afraid that's all I was really interested in at the time."

Kim listened closely to Karen, her words, her voice tone and pitch before smiling politely. "Well, thanks for your help. Come on Ron."

"Why? Is she out of cookies?" Ron asked confusedly as Kim pinched his arm. "Ouch."

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Not one minute and thirty feet from the front door later and Kim stopped Ron in his tracks.

"What's up KP? We still catching Bueno Nacho for lunch?" Ron asked, noting the expression on his girlfriends face, informing him she had unfinished business.

"Why don't you go ahead and keep our booth warm? I'll catch up." Kim insisted even as she looked back at the house where they had just come from.

"You got some thing else going on?" Ron looked at the house, still confused.

"Just going to find out what really happened to the original Squirrel Girl costume." Kim answered.

"But I thought…" Kim shot him a knowing glance. "Ooh. She did that thing they do where they don't tell us the truth, didn't she?"

"Something like that." Kim smiled knowingly.

"You sure you don't want any back up for this?" Ron asked.

Kim merely responded by leaning in, planting a light peck of a kiss on Ron's lips. "I got it. Keep my seat warm for me."

"Anything for the lady." Ron smiled, returning the kiss.

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Karen returned to the sound of her knocking door, surprised to see the same red headed young woman from before. "I'm sorry. Is something wrong?"

"Ms. Currage, I really need to talk to you." Kim insisted, just less politely than before.

"Look, I told you," she rushed Kim. "I don't know who bought the original costume. Now if you don't mind…"

Karen Currage tried to close her front door, but Kim's hand caught it as she held up a black and white still of the footage from earlier in the day.

"Ms. Currage, an hour ago, some girl wearing the exact same costume that you wore in the sixties showed up at the Middleton Mall, in front of the theatres, beating up a bunch of fans and throwing mini-grenades painted like acorns. No one was seriously hurt… this time, but if you know who this girl is or if you know anything that could be helpful, I really need to talk to you."

For a long second, Karen Currage stared at the photo in Kim's hand in grim acceptance before finally pulling back on the door. "Please come in."

A few seconds later found Kim sitting at a table in Karen's kitchen. "Some tea?"

"Yes please." Kim replied politely. "Ms. Currage, who is this new Squirrel Girl?"

Karen didn't pause for one second as she put on her pot. Then, reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out her wallet, before retrieving a picture that she handed to Kim. The photo was a high school picture of a young girl with the same smooth brown hair that Kim had fought earlier in the day.

"That is my daughter Sarah." Karen explained as she sat down opposite Kim, handing her a cup.

"Your daughter is Squirrel Girl." Kim looked at the woman wide eyed.

"She always wanted to be." Karen admitted with dry amusement as she looked back at the picture. "Her father died when she was a little girl, and I just kept my old name even after we married. Growing up, I wasn't around as much as I wanted to be, and for whatever reason, she grew up idolizing Squirrel Girl. Maybe it was because I wasn't there for her as much but the old reruns of me on TV were."

"But, Squirrel Girl was the villain on the show, wasn't she?" Kim asked, admittedly uncomfortable with the course this story was taking.

"I take it you didn't watch the show like your boyfriend did, did you?" Karen asked with a wry smile.

"How did you know he was my…?" Kim didn't finished the question as Karen shot her a knowing glance, almost identical to the one she had shot Ron almost a thousand times since they were kids. "That obvious?"

Karen answered with another smile before continuing with her story. "Squirrel Girl was technically a villain yes, but in her own way, she was a hero for her time. She was the first female character in a major television show for the time who was strong, capable, intelligent, self reliant. The show's producers almost scrapped the idea from the beginning in favor of making her some kind of female seductress or succubus or some other nonsense. It was actually Timothy North who helped me argue that she should be more."

Karen paused in her story, obviously carefully deciding how she would continue her story.

"Seeing ordinary people do amazing things helps remind the rest of us that we can be amazing too. Watching Squirrel Girl on TV turned out to be a big motivator for Sarah. Maybe that was part of the problem. She always believed that if she set her mind to it, she could be just as amazing as Squirrel Girl. But things went bad for her when she went to school, or rather; they just never seemed to go right."

"What happened at school?" Kim shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Oh, even since pre-school, everyone treated her differently, like she was some kind of outcast. From the very first day, she was singled out as some kind of scapegoat by every bully that ever got a look at her."

Karen Currage paused for a moment, looking as if she had to fight back a spare tear before continuing.

"Since she didn't spend much time with friends, she spent all her time at home, running around, jumping, any physical activity you can imagine. Some girls get into dolls when they're little, but she… I honestly think she was in training to be a super hero. She always would run around in the backyard in her own made different costumes, flipping and jumping. She even took karate classes. In high school, she went out for the cheer team. She was so proud to make it and I thought for sure things would improve for her once she did."

"I'm guessing they didn't." Kim asked uneasily.

"No." Karen replied with a sigh. "She was so good at it, she completely showed up all the other girls on the squad, who were much more popular than her. Obviously, that just ended up making things worse for her, and they never got better. Not even once. I sometimes think her life might have been completely different if she could have just made one friend in school. Instead, she just retreated back into her fantasy of being a super hero."

"And then she took the Squirrel Girl costume." Kim attempted to swallow a lump in her throat.

"I came home one day and found it missing. When I asked her about, she completely flipped. Lashed out, saying I was never 'worthy of it' or something like that, and then just ran away." Karen couldn't help herself this time as she wiped a tear from her face.

Kim felt herself want to say something but she couldn't think of anything even remotely appropriate for this situation.

"She's not a bad person." Karen defended emphatically. "She just… she's just confused is all. She needs help."

"Ms. Currage, I promise we'll do everything we can to help her."

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"Whoa." Ron whispered as he bit into his Naco. "So I guess we got a name to go with the tail now."

"Sarah Currage. Daughter of the original Squirrel Girl." Kim sunk into her seat, barely having touched her lunch salad as she finished relaying the story to Ron.

For a moment longer, the two sat in silence, before Ron eventually did what he did best. "You know, when I was little, I honestly wanted to be a naked mole rat when I grew up. I mean they have it so easy."

"Muh ha! Good choice." Rufus gave his thumbs before returning to marinate in his own pool of nacho cheese.

Ron noticed Kim's lack of amusement as she continued to stare off at nothing. Deciding to switch gears, he asked "So, how do you want to handle this one?"

Suddenly, Kim lit up like a bulb as she looked at Ron, inspiration flashing before her eyes. "I think I'm gonna let the Fearless Ferret handle this one."

"Huh?"

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Kim furiously tore through her closet as Ron sat at her bed side, looking between Kim's back and Rufus' face in confusion.

"Uh, KP, I really don't think now is the time for a fashion crisis." Ron noted.

Kim finally ceased her scavenging as she grabbed a large brown box. Taking the box in hand, she walked across the room before offering it to Ron.

"KP, my birthday's not for another month."

"It's early." Kim smiled as she handed it to him. Ron could stare at her with a puzzled expression before taking it in hand. The look on Kim's face encouraged Ron onward as he opened the box, removing the lid to reveal a folded, neatly presented, familiar brown costume.

"The ferret suit." Ron gasped as he held it up. This one was different, it was fresh. And it noticeably did not smell like it had been gathering dust at the bottom of some dirty cave for the last few decades.

"Actually, think of it as the Ferret Suit 2.0." Ron looked at Kim and she merely smiled as she continued. "I asked Nana to do the stitch work, and Wade did the rest."

Ron's eyes went wide as saucers as he looked down at the suit again. "You mean, this is my… my…"

"Your very own super suit." Kim smiled as she sat down next to Ron. "Custom designed."

"KP," Ron curled his lip over itself, trying to control himself. "This is the most badical gift ever… well besides your Pandaroo… and that Cyber scrap book… and…"

"Ron, Ron." Kim interrupted with a wide smile even as Ron threw his arms around her, grabbing her tightly. "I'm glad you like it."

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_The suit's a tight fit. Tighter than I remember it. But I can't help but feel totally badical in it. This isn't just some Halloween costume. I've worn those. I was a horse's butt once._

_It wasn't one of my favorites._

_No. This is more. This suit makes me something more than just a weirdo in a costume. Or someone who forgot to check their calendar and see what day of the week Halloween actually was on. That's an honest mistake that anyone could make by the way._

_It only happened that one year!_

_I wore this costume before. I didn't have all the kinks worked out then, but I do now. I know what I have to do. Somewhere out there is a girl in a squirrel costume… and she has a tail. I mean it's a real tail of all things. I've seen some weird stuff, but that's just…_

"Ron! Enough with the tail already."

_KP? How did she know what I was thinking?_

"Because I can hear you. You're saying all this out loud!"

_I am?_

"Yes."

_Oh. Uhmm… oh man, now I lost my place in my heroic monologue. Where was I?_

"Girl in a squirrel costume."

_Right. Right._

_Somewhere out there is a girl running around in a squirrel costume. If someone doesn't get to her first, she might hurt someone. She might even hurt herself. Now this…_

"This looks like a job for the Fearless Ferret." Ron pulled the mask of the Fearless Ferret down as he stood, ready for action.

"Duh dun dun dundundun. Wonder Weasel!" Rufus added proudly as he leapt atop Ron's shoulders.

On to the shoulders of the Fearless Ferret.


	3. Back In Action

Author's Note: Well let me again express my heartfelt thanks to all those who have written in and reviewed. I can't tell you how much it means to me. This last chapter took a little longer than intended, so I hope it was worth the wait. More to come and soon. 

As always, write a review and get a response.

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The night watchman continued to shout into his gag as he twisted and pulled against his bounds. For a brief moment, he paused in his struggles, squirming on the floor of Deidre's Diamonds as he looked up at the feet walking past him.

"Oh, let men keep the dogs. Diamonds are a woman's best friend." Squirrel Girl marveled at the full, luscious, perfectly cut diamonds on each of the rings on all ten of her fingers before turning to the thick emerald necklace laced with connecting diamonds around her slender neck. "Lucky for me, you were having a tail discount." She asked to the guard.

"Ok, it's bad enough you have a tail, you should not be trying to draw attention to it." A rather frank voice explained off to the side, followed by a high pitched 'yeah.' Squirrel Girl turned to confront what she had naturally expected to be another night watch man.

Instead, an unmistakable brown costume with an insignia that young Sarah had grown up on stood before her. The costume was a tight fit on a young man, freckled with deep brown eyes that for one brief moment disarmed the would-be super villainess.

"The Ferret." She gasped.

"Booyah!" The Fearless Ferret exclaimed as his hands came to his sides, standing tall and proud. And perched loyally on his shoulders, a small rodent in the costume of Wonder Weasel.

"Aren't you a little short to be a senior super hero?" Squirrel Girl noted with dry amusement.

"Hey, the costume's a little tighter around the areas, ok? You don't have to make a point about it." Ron bit back defensively.

"No, I mean you're a little young for this line of work." Squirrel Girl replied suggestively motioning her hands to further convey her underline meaning.

"Hey, I've been at this longer than you have." Ron insisted.

"No… I mean you're not the original Fearless Ferret." Squirrel Girl let out finally in a frustrated sigh.

"Oh, right." Ron smiled weakly. "Yeah, I knew that's what you meant." Ron rubbed the back of his neck anxiously before bringing himself back to the matter at hand. "Little late night shopping?"

Squirrel Girl turned to the broken displays and the clutter of diamond decorated jewelry in hand. "What, you didn't actually expect me to gather acorns and nuts in my spare time did you?"

"Well not really," Ron admitted anxiously, "but you know, some people, once they get a theme going, they just don't let it go. Example; guy I know, totally obsessed with monkeys." Ron cut his hand through the air. "I mean monkey this, monkey that, it never stops with him."

Squirrel Girl eyed the Fearless Ferret skeptically. "Uh-huh. I think that suit is just little too tight in some areas." She guessed even as she cast a spare gaze at just how tightly it clung to Ron's figure.

"Monkey idols, monkey rituals, monkey books, it's always something monkey. Who knew there were even that many monkey things in the world to begin with!?" Ron went on, clearly oblivious to all else around him.

"Uh, are you ok?" Squirrel Girl asked. She had to admit, her dramatic showdown with the Fearless Ferret, the moment where she would be defined by her arch nemesis, the ensuing conflict that she had imagined for most of her life: so far it was definitely not turning out as she had imagined.

"Yeah, yeah." Ron took a moment, gathering his breath. "Stupid monkeys."

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Kim sat impatiently at her desk, checking over her math assignment that wasn't due for another week for the fifth time. Her eyes gazed loosely over the collection of numbers and formulas before her without much real interest as she sighed.

A brief knock was heard at the door to Kim's loft as her mother walked in. "Hon, your father and I are going out tonight and Jim and Tim are at a friend's house. If you and Ron… honey?" Mrs. Possible immediately noticed the distant expression on her daughter's face. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Everything's fine mom." Kim heard herself answer.

"Hon, why don't you and Ron go out tonight? You've got a perfect night for it." Kim's mother offered entreatingly even as she gestured out the window to the perfect setting sun in the distance.

"Ron's… Ron's got something to do tonight." Kim explained without meeting her mother's probing gaze.

"And Ron does anything without you since…?"

"Ron's chasing a new super villain." Kim insisted quickly, desperate to end this conversation.

"Which only brings up my original question. Why aren't you with him?" Kim bit down on her lip as Mrs. Possible's expression softened as she pulled up a chair alongside her daughter's desk. "Hon, I know I'm just your mother but I actually do know you fairly well. The only time you're ever down like this is when something is wrong between you and Ron. What's going on?"

Kim tried to swallow down yet another lump in her throat as she tried to carefully choose the words to tell her story with. "A couple months ago, I found out that Ron… was getting tired of just being thought of as my sidekick." Kim explained, careful to edit the details of her encounter with Zorpox. "That he wanted to break away from me."

"Kimmie." Mrs. Possible explained as a wide awe accompanied by realization came across her face. "You know that Ron is crazy about you. I can't imagine him ever leaving you."

"I know." Kim answered softly. "But I… I get that I'm not enough for him. That he wants to get out from under my shadow. So I want to give him this chance."

Mrs. Possible nodded slowly for a minute, determined not to say the wrong thing at the wrong moment even as she put a warm hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Kim, I understand that you want to do what you think is best, but do you really think letting Ron go after a super villain on his own is the best way to handle this."

"I don't know." Kim admitted in defeat. "I mean, as super villains go, this one seems mostly harmless, and he's got his own super suit, so that should give him more than a fighting chance. I just… I know I can't hold on to him forever, but I don't want to lose him mom."

The accomplished brain surgeon took a moment as she watched her daughter struggle to compose herself. "Honey, did you ever hear of Abraham Maslow?"

"Brain surgeon or rocket scientist?"

"Neither." Mrs. Possible answered with a wry smile. "He theorized that every human being has a series of needs in life, like a pyramid, with the most basic of them at the bottom and then becoming more and more complicated as the pyramid goes on. According to him, at the very, very top of that pyramid is the need for self-actualization."

"So you're saying it was only a matter of time before Ron wouldn't want to save the world with me?" Kim asked with the grim acceptance of her worst fears being confirmed.

"I'm saying that Ron is a human being and like any other human being, he wants to be able to stand on his own two feet, especially if he's standing next to someone he might not feel as an equal too." Mrs. Possible took a moment before lightening her tone slightly. "You wouldn't believe how many men are intimidated at the prospect of dating an accomplished brain surgeon. One of the things that has really helped our marriage is that your father has absolutely no reason to feel inferior to me nor I to him because of our jobs."

Kim remained silent as she processed her mother's words, informing Anne Possible that it was safe to go on.

"Kim, you're the most important thing in Ron's life. Anyone who sees the way he looks at you knows that and nothing is going to change that. But if you really think Ron needs to step out of your shadow, then I suppose is the best way to handle it, just so long as you don't ever think for one minute that he's better off without you."

"Yeah, I guess." Kim admitted quietly. "I mean, how much trouble could he get into on his own?"

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"Oh no, no please have mercy." The Fearless Ferret pleaded desperately. "Oh not that. Anything but that. Not…. AHHH! Wet Willy!" Ron let out a deafening cry of mortal agony as Squirrel Girl, her finger wetted by her saliva as she held down the Fearless Ferret with her other arm and body, pulled back the edge of his mask just enough to allow her finger access to his ear, sticking it in and shaking it about vigorously, much to the torment of the young man beneath.

"Uh-oh." Wonder Weasel rushed in to help, pressing a button at the side of the Fearless Ferret's belt. Ron tensed his muscles as power hummed through his suit audibly. A wave of force shot out across his suit, rising outward in all directions and into the young villainess atop him.

Squirrel Girl let out a cry of surprise as she felt herself hurdled through the air, crashing through a display case, much to the muffled cries of one of the guards, landing roughly against the wall. The Fearless Ferret leapt to his feet, his emblem, gloves and mask all glowing as he eyed his target intently.

"Booyah. Now let's try this again."

Squirrel Girl merely groaned slightly at the pain before her look intensified with determination. Ignoring the pain in her back, she flipped across the room with flawless grace and form, landing right next to the Fearless Ferret.

In a flash, she was on the offensive with two fast kicks. The Ferret deflected each before striking out with his right fist. The blow was close but not close enough and it allowed Squirrel Girl to launch a series of fast jabs at Ron. Fortunately, his suit gave him the speed necessary to deflect each strike. In frustration, Squirrel Girl leapt out, trying to tackle her opponent to the ground. Instead, the Fearless Ferret side stepped the attack, grabbing her tail as she passed. Swinging around with his new found strength, he spun his helpless opponent through the air before releasing his grip, letting her fly back through the air to impact on the nearest wall.

"Oh yeah. This super suit totally rocks!" Ron cheered loudly to himself.

Squirrel Girl merely growled in frustration as she returned to the fight, bounding straight at him as he sidestepped the attack yet again. Quickly, she followed with another kick, jab combo followed by a roundhouse kick and a flying spin kick. Every where her attacks went, the suit guided the Fearless Ferret's limbs to deflect with inhuman power.

Another jab from Squirrel Girl went wide as the Fearless Ferret grabbed the vulnerable arm, twisting it into a judo throw and sending her flying again to land squarely on her tail.

Grinding her teeth in anger, Squirrel Girl leapt back fiercely to her feet. Standing, she flexed out her fingers in a preset motion, triggering a series of sharp claws to extend within her gloves. With her new weapons in hand, she leapt back, slashing out at the Fearless Ferret, her fingers coming within millimeters of his skin. Instead, her claws easily tore through the material of the suit, leaving a gaping hole across the chest, tearing away the emblem in the center of the suit.

"Looks like I've still got a trick up my tail." Squirrel Girl smiled confidently. However, her smile quickly abandoned her flawless face, transferring to Ron's as the fabric of the suit mended itself before their very eyes.

"And I've got a suit that doesn't need stitch work." In confidence, the Fearless Ferret leapt out, tackling Squirrel Girl to the ground, but the super villainess merely rolled with the attack, tossing the Ferret off of her. Send flying, the Fearless Ferret twisted and turned in mid air with the power of the suit, landing feet first facing his adversary.

The Ferret's gloves moved to his belt, activating a special control. At the same instant, a compressed net shot out from a particular compartment within the belt. The net burst open in the air, its side stakes aiming straight and true as the entire net caught up Squirrel Girl within its binds, sticking her to the wall behind her.

Trapped but not out of the fight yet, Squirrel Girl worked her claws, cutting at the ropes frantically determined to free herself. The material of the net was strong, yet surprisingly thin, but that didn't stop it from giving way to Squirrel Girl's cutting.

"Acorns of Doom." Squirrel Girl cried, finally free, as she drew two more explosives, hurling them out the Fearless Ferret. But the brown suited hero merely smiled confidently as he drew across a control on his belt, prompting a brown, transparent bubble of energy to materialize around his person. The exploding acorns detonated harmlessly across the force field.

"Oh yeah. Definite mad love to the super suit." The Fearless Ferret took a step forward to approach his foe when his hand grazed against the force field, a slight electrical shock knocking him back. "Hey, what the?"

The Ferret's fist slapped against the force field a few more times, yet still it remained. For a minute, Weasel and Squirrel alike watched as Ron fiddled with the controls on his belt.

"Come on. Off. Which one is the off switch for the force field?" Ron Stoppable demanded of the suit as he continued to struggle with the controls. Meanwhile, Squirrel Girl simply smiled at him in amusement. Seeing no further need for fighting, she calmly collected up several pieces of jewelry that had caught her fancy from earlier before strolling over casually before the force field.

"Well, this was fun. We should do this again some time." Squirrel Girl smiled as she stood proudly before the trapped Ferret even as she slipped the emerald necklace to have caught her fancy earlier around her tall neck.

"Ok, as soon as I get this super suit fixed, we are totally going to finish this."

"Mmm, you know you're kinda cute when you act all tough." Squirrel let a sultry smile escape through her mask.

"What!" Ron's eyes went wide with shock. "Uh, hehehe, uhmm, well I'm flattered, but I'm seeing someone."

"Side kick?"

"No. No, she's a real super hero." Ron explained simply.

"Too bad. You oughta try giving the bad girls a chance once in a while. We can be a lot of fun." She explained with a suggestive wink.

"Yeah, sorry. I already tried the whole 'embrace my inner bad boy' thing. It just didn't work out for me." He explained awkwardly.

"Really? It's working wonders for me." Squirrel Girl stated certainly as she flashed her newly 'acquired' jewelry to emphasize her point.

"Yeah, I bet it did a lot of favors for those guys you roughed up at the theatres this morning." Ron snipped back.

"Pfft, it was probably the most exercise most of those guys have seen in months." Squirrel Girl dismissed. "Besides, it's the law of the jungle. Survival of the fittest."

"What jungle? We're in Colorado. The nearest jungle is like a thousand miles south of here." Ron said.

"It's an expression." She replied simply.

"So is 'Grand theft larceny'." Ron's voice softened as his voice took an unnatural tone that even he didn't recognize. "You've gotta believe me. I know the road you're walking down and I know where it leads. I was dropped right where you're heading. You walk too far down and you won't be able to get off."

"Oh please." Squirrel Girl just rolled her eyes dismissively. "Like you know the first thing about what I'm doing."

"I know more than you might think, Sarah."

At the mention of that name, Squirrel Girl's eyes lit with fire. Her claws re-extended themselves as she slashed at the brown field surrounding the Fearless Ferret. Her scratch impacted against the field, causing a slight wave to pass across the field. Ron, for his own part, was more taken aback by the fierceness behind the attack than the attack itself.

"Don't you call me that. Don't you ever call me that again! I am Squirrel Girl, got it?" She demanded savagely.

Ron's expression merely disheartened at the sight. "I know what you're going through. Just let me help you."

"I don't need your help." Squirrel Girl insisted icily as she turned about for the exit, pausing to turn back to her foe. "You know, you aren't so cute when you're stupid."

"And you aren't as indestructible as you might think. Sooner or later, everyone falls. Only question is who do you have there to help catch you when it happens?"

Ron hid his surprise at his own words (where the heck did that come from anyway, he wondered) behind his mask as he watched Squirrel Girl pause for a moment before casually dismissing his statement.

And with that, she was gone.

"How the heck do I get out of this anyway?" Ron wondered aloud as he looked at the force field still enclosing him.

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Squirrel Girl sat on a rooftop, deep in thought. She had originally planned to admire her new found jewels, but somehow, her eyes seemed to wander past their lustrous sparkle and back to the jewelry store and to dismissed words of warning.

That wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to be like that. The Fearless Ferret and Squirrel Girl were supposed to fight, sure. But then…

No. That wasn't supposed to be like that. That wasn't how things were supposed to go.

Squirrel Girl savagely threw the jewels in hand to the ground, having lost all care for such trinkets. Desperate for an escape, she brought her mind to a more tactical issue.

The Fearless Ferret, or at least this new one, whoever he was, had a suit that gave him an insurmountable advantage. It was nothing short of sheer luck that she had managed to get away this time. Next time, she wouldn't be so lucky. She'd need something more than homemade bombs painted like acorns.

It was then that a passing pamphlet floating through the air delivered to her the answer that most would have preferred she would find.

_Annual Super Villain Tradeshow and Convention. This Saturday at the Tri-city Convention Center. Henchmen seminars, Doomsday demonstrations and even free evil snack bar! Free admittance for anyone with candy stolen from a baby._

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"Are you done yet?" Ron asked impatiently, his Ferret mask pulled back as he tapped his feet, his arms crossed within the forcefield.

"Hang on." Wade spoke through the Kimmunicator as Kim ran it up and down Ron's figure one more time. "It looks like it's just a glitch in the suit. Give me one second."

As Wade could be heard to type a few more buttons on his computer console, the force field around Ron finally shut down.

"I take it things didn't go exactly as planned." Kim asked carefully, noting the frustration on Ron's face.

"Let's just say there were some technical difficulties." Ron batted at his belt in frustration as if to punish it for insolence before turning to Rufus. "Thanks for the save little buddy."

"Welcome." Rufus saluted.

"So, I guess it's back to basics." Kim asked.

"Oh no." Ron cut off sharply, his mood not having been helped by being stuck behind the force field of his own super suit, thus leaving his trusty Wonder Weasel to go get help. "I said I could handle this and I can handle this. I got this one KP."

"Any ideas on where to start looking?" Wade asked.

"Sure." Ron replied. He'd had a lot of time to think this out. "I know where I'd go if I was a new super villain in town and wanted to get my feet wet and test the waters."

"The Annual Super Villain Tradeshow and Convention." Kim answered as realization dawned on her.

"All day tomorrow." Ron answered simply.

"Ron, you can't possibly think of going to that convention alone. I don't care if you have a super suit or not, you're going to need backup." Kim insisted.

"I said I got this KP. I'll be fine." Ron insisted.

"But Ron…"

"I said. I got this." And with that, Ron's eyes informed Kim that the discussion was over.


	4. A Day At The Convention

Author's Note: Welcome back everyone to the fourth chapter of Hero's Legacy. Sorry for taking so long to update. Hope it was worth the wait. As always, leave a review, get a response.

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"All guests, please have your tickets ready at the gate. All henchmen must be with their party to receive their pass. Please no shoving, no fighting, no unnecessarily profane language and no threatening or attempting to vaporize you fellow guests. We do not want a repeat of the infamous Drakken/Dementor 'incident' from two years ago." As the man at the front gate continued to repeat his instruction speech, he did his best to hide his anxiousness. The fact was that he was giving instructions and attempting to maintain order amidst some of the most dangerous and insanely anti-social scientists, mutants and fighters in the world.

Needless to say, when a light finger tapped him on the shoulder from behind, it caused him to jump where he stood as he turned around.

Standing before him, a tall young man with light blonde hair and freckles across his face smiled back at him in a brown delivery uniform. "Package for a…" the young man's brown eyes looked down to scan over a sheet of paper and clipboard in hand "Dr. Destructo."

"Package? What package?" The event host looked at the young man incredulously. "All packages, deliveries and materials for booths are supposed to have been set up already."

"Last minute delivery." The young man just shrugged. "Don't look at me, I'm just the messenger. Got a genetically engineered, killer mole rat for the show."

The blonde haired delivery boy held up a prone, pink, hairless rodent within his palm. The older, dark haired man with the speaker phone in hand examined the tiny creature carefully over with his eye.

"Doesn't look like such a killer to me." He noted skeptically.

"Well sure." The blonde replied obviously. "He's only supposed to attack in response to his 'kill word'."

The older man looked confused as he stared back at the blonde delivery boy. "What's the 'kill word'?" He asked as he attempted to poke at the creature with his right forefinger.

"Cheese."

At this, the tiny naked rodent leapt up to its feet in a single movement, his small buck teeth digging into the curious finger, causing the dark haired man to leap back in surprise.

"Gahh!" The older man looked at his finger, attempting to shake off the sting. "Is that thing infected?"

"Not 'till I get him to his booth." The blonde man stated simply of the naked rodent even as it seemed to lie back down in his hand.

"Eww. Go ahead." The older man indicated to the main entrance way with his thumb over his shoulder even as he nodded to one of the security men at the door, signaling to allow the blonde haired delivery boy through.

"Nice job, buddy." Ron smiled to Rufus as his tiniest friend jumped back up in his palm, the two of them hurrying inside.

What awaited them caused their hearts to constrict.

A veritable collection of cyborgs, mutants, freaks and monsters wandered back and forth across the convention floor room. Booths with such colorful signs as "Doomsday Demonstration" and "Armageddon Array" caught the eye, while large cannons of all sizes and imaginable design seemed to decorate the show as if they were but props.

"Well," Ron took a large gulp. "The good news is that we got in the Super Villain Tradeshow and Convention without a hitch."

"Uh-huh." Rufus agreed uneasily, taking the same gulp.

"The bad news." Ron had to remember to breathe before continuing. "Well, the bad news is that we are inside the Super Villain Tradeshow and Convention and half the people here know us."

"Uh-huh." Rufus agreed uneasily.

Looking around, Ron took a moment to duck behind an apparently empty booth. Making sure there were no prying eyes around, Ron pressed onto his apparently normal belt buckle. As he did, the countless microscopic digital projectors around his battle suit reverted to their original projection, the brown delivery outfit instantly replaced by the brown Ferret suit.

"Ok buddy, we're on the clock. Let's get to it." The Fearless Ferret proclaimed aloud, pulling his mask over his face.

"Yeah." Wonder Weasel cheered as his tiny paws settled his mask over his eyes.

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"Wade, are you sure about this?" Kim asked, her voice pleading, either for sympathy or an alternative solution.

"Sorry Kim, but the only way inside that convention is through the front door. I've tried everything I can think of, but the security on this place is air tight. I can't just dress you up as a delivery boy, hand you a package and expect you to walk through the doors." Wade explained in sincere regret.

"But Wade…" Kim was normally far above whining, but she couldn't help herself. This was just the absolute lowest of low. If it had been anyone else but Ron on the line, she'd have cut her loses and just gone home.

"Kim, it's a convention for the most anti-social, paranoid and some of the most brilliant people in the world. The only other places in the world with security this tight are the Pentagon, or the White House. There's just no way I can get Kim Possible, super hero extraordinaire through the front door."

"So you think you can get Sheila of the Leopard People through again?" Kim asked in despair as she held up her 'tail' in the air, waving it pitifully.

Lowest of the low.

"Desperate times…" Wade shrugged with a cringe. "Kim, are you really sure you want to go in there? I mean, Ron said he could handle this."

"Wade, I don't care if he has a battle suit or not, there is no way Ron can handle himself against an entire convention center full of bad guys and their toys." Kim held up the Kimmunicator to her face, informing Wade of her unwavering intentions.

"Same could be said of you, Kim." Wade argued back, very mindful of his tone of voice. "You realize that if you're recognized, at least half the people in this convention center will be all over you in a second."

"I'll be fine Wade." Kim insisted dismissively. "Talk to you when I'm inside. Out." And with that, Kim turned the Kimmunicator off as she made her way over to the line inside.

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"Achk! Wat kind of cheap trash da ye be tryin' to peddle here?" Duff Killigan exclaimed in disgust as he held the weapon in hand. The Hench Co. salesman didn't let the mad golfer phase his sales pitch for an instant.

"Why sir, I can assure you that the Plasmicannon 3000 is ideal for all your needs. It's light in weight, carries a very low recoil, cartridges for quick and efficient reloading, and will melt through solid steel like butter."

"Oh really now?" Even Killigan couldn't contain his impression as he clutched the silver grey weapon closely to his shoulder. "Well then, how a'bout a demonstration then laddie?"

"Why certainly sir." The young rep agreed eagerly. "We do in fact have several targets set up, I'm sure a gentleman such as yourself…" but Killigan paid the rep no mind as he took aim without regard, firing a large yellow beam of energy from the weapon in hand.

The beam shot out, blasting through several display booth walls, leaving a small trail of destruction through the convention floor. In response, several patrons of the Convention, including a large brain that had been placed inside a robotic body and revealed through a clear, liquid filled dome, angrily peaked out from behind the remnants of their booths, angrily shaking their arms/tentacle at the golfer.

"Ehh, nat bad." Killigan admitted casually as he held the weapon back at arms length.

"Mind if I give it a try." A soft, sultry voice approached the pair. Two sets of eyes both bulged at the sight of the young slender body wrapped tightly in a furry, brown and grey outfit, complete with a large, puffy tail. Squirrel Girl gave no further explanation as she swiftly grabbed the weapon out of Duff's hand.

Aiming the weapon at the set up targets, Squirrel Girl drew a breath before firing thrice in rapid succession. Three shots, three targets reduced to slag in the span of a second. Squirrel Girl let out an impressed 'hmph' as she held back the weapon, examining it.

"Hmm, this will do." She arched her eyebrow.

"Well now." Killigan gave a smile that nearly turned the young villainess' stomach as he not so slickly moved to rest his arm around her shoulder. "Ye know, if is weapons ye be interested in, me golf clubs 'ave been aching for some time on a 'course."

Squirrel Girl, for her part, gave the hairy golfer a disgusted look before shoving the plasma weapon in hand into his chest, pushing him aback slightly with it. "Keep your clubs and your 'course' to yourself. I'm sure your aim needs the work anyway."

The Hench Co. salesman let out a poorly muffled laugh at the quip, which caused Killigan to eye him angrily for a second before turning back to Squirrel Girl.

"Now see here lassie," Duff began to fume. "I be Duff Killigan ye be adressin', the world's most deadly golfer."

"And just how many other deadly golfers are out there?" Squirrel Girl could not help but to ask.

"That be beside the point!" Duff shouted, informing Squirrel Girl that she had clearly touched a nerve. "No one dismisses me!"

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"Ok Rufus, now we're in, but we have to be vigilant." Ron whispered to his hairless sidekick. The pair had been roaming the convention center floor for about twenty minutes now, and it was readily apparent that either no one recognized them, or no one cared. Apparently, the Fearless Ferret was not as popular amongst this crowd.

"Yes sir." Rufus saluted smartly.

"We have to be watchful."

"Uh-huh." Rufus agreed as he placed his paw over his eyes in lookout.

"The smallest thing could be a vital clue." Ron went on, caught up in the excitement of his first solo investigation. "We have to be on the look out for anything. Tell tale stain, out of place hair, carpet fiber…"

Ron was interrupted from his musings as a large Scottish golfer went flying through a booth wall, screaming in obvious surprise as he landed face first onto another table, causing it to crash beneath his weight.

"Maybe a trail of bread crumbs." Ron added absently.

"Uh-huh." Rufus agreed even as the pair both looked back the way the golfer had come from. Sure enough, through the large hole in the booth wall, Squirrel Girl stood standing confidently, expecting the large hairy brute to rise back up. Instead, a familiar brown mask starred back at her.

"Oh great." Squirrel Girl let out sarcastically before she turned to run.

"Found her." Ron's hand moved down to his belt buckle, activating a specific control. Sure enough, his suit glowed with power which he felt hum audibly around him. "Booyah."

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"Ladies and gentlemen," Jack Hench exclaimed delightedly at the large crowd gathered before his podium and the large Hench Co. prototype behind him still draped in a white sheet, hoping that that introduction covered at least some of the audience. "Hench Co industries is very pleased to unveil its newest prototype in urban warfare."

With that, Jack Hench pulled back the large white cloth behind him, revealing a large, sleek looking vehicle, at least half the size of a bus, its hull smooth and stainless as steel.

"The Automaggedon 4000 is the absolute latest and best that Hench Co has to offer. Complete with five inch thick solid armor and capable of going from zero to a hundred and fifty in just less than two seconds. These of course, are only some of its most basic features. Of course, as you all know, the winner of our free drawing will have the honor of road testing its numerous other features personally as well as receive a warranty good for all maintenance and repairs for the next six months."

Murmurs of mutual excitement rumbled among the audience as they rubbed their hands and licked their lips eagerly. This free drawing was to be one of the main highlights of the Convention, especially since the Automaggedon would not be on sale again for another three months.

"And the winner is…" Jack Hench paused as he reached into the enclosed box full of entries, his fingers rummaging through the different slips before finally grasping on one specifically. His eyes bulged as he finally looked at the name on the slip.

_Ron Stoppable!_ Jack Hench struggled to hide his surprise as he looked back at his expectant audience. Jack could just imagine the reaction that would ensue if he announced that Hench Co would be supply their very latest and cutting edge in vehicular combat to the other half of the pair responsible for putting most of his clients in jail.

"And the winner…" Jack laughed nervously before continuing "is Professor Dementor!"

"Ha! Vinally, I have my own transport with vich to visit mama!" Begrudged applause broke out as the yellow skinned scientist rose in his seat. However, before he could make his way to the stage, a lithe figure in a furry costume leapt over Dementor, her hands balancing on top of his head as she flipped over, landing atop the podium, right next to Jack Hench.

"Ooh, shiny." She smiled at the large armored vehicle behind the podium. However, it was not a second later that another brown figure, this one clearly male, landed in front of her, leaving poor Jack Hench stuck in the middle.

"So, you just here for the free handouts too?" The Fearless Ferret smiled as took pose opposite his quarry.

"Just window shopping." She flashed a defiant smile. "Only not so much on the shopping."

"Well," Jack Hench interjected, never one to miss out the opportunity to sign off on a sale. "I can assure you that Hench Co accepts a variety of payment plans and if you'd like to sign up now, you can both be one of the first ones to ride a new Automaggedon in…" Jack was cut off as Squirrel Girl pulled him close, grabbing the keys to the large urban tank from his hand, and casually tossing him aside and into the crowd.

"You don't have the first clue what you're doing." The Fearless Ferret tried to warn.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm stealing a tank." Squirrel Girl flashed another amused smile.

"Not on my watch." The Fearless Ferret leapt out, kicking the keys into the air and quickly spinning around, sending another kick into Squirrel Girl's gut, knocking her back to the ground.

Rufus looked up as the keys slowly fell back to the ground. Leaping up, the tiny creature expertly caught them in his mouth, landing with them still firmly in his grip.

Shrugging off the kick, Squirrel Girl leapt back up to her feet and up to the podium, rushing directly at the Fearless Ferret. The two locked hands, struggling against one another.

The Fearless Ferret might have quickly overpowered her then and there, had it not been for a small, white object that came down to rest right beside the struggling hero and villain. The Ferret had barely enough to time to voice a warning when the small object exploded, knocking both the Ferret and Squirrel aside and to the ground.

"Thro' me through' a wall, will ye?" A thick Scottish voice bellowed as Duff Killigan drew another golf ball, dropping it to the floor, taking aim and letting swing again.

Wonder Weasel had enough time to see the second flying ball heading straight at him. Gasping in shock, and subsequently dropping the keys to the podium, the tiny rodent scampered out of range as the ball exploded, sending the keys flying up into the air, coming to land right beside where Squirrel Girl lay, rubbing her head smartly.

The costumed villainess heard the jingle of the keys and smiled as she scooped them up. "Oooh. Must be my lucky day."

The Fearless Ferret shook some sense into his head, looking up just as Squirrel Girl rushed past him, into the open door within the side of the Automaggedon, closing up the latch behind her. A large roar from the engine caused an uneasy murmur among the gathered crowd.

"Oh not good." Ron admitted in a horrified whisper.

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Kim continued to walk uneasily up and down the walk ways of the convention. Every time she saw a familiar face, she quickly turned away even as she did a quick take on her mask to make sure it concealed her identity properly.

The good news was that everyone seemed too caught up in the commotion and exhibits of the convention to pay her much mind.

This was especially true once an enormous, armored engine of destruction on eight puncture proof treads came tearing through at least six different booths, sending convention guests and patrons scattering in all directions, screaming.

Kim saw the war on wheels come to a screeching halt, turn about, and then aim twin plasma cannons mounted on both sides of the vehicle's front roof. Weapons fire seemed to even further scatter the convention patrons as it chased after a brown costumed figure jumping across the room.

The Fearless Ferret seemed to leap and bound through the air with super human power, dodging blast after blast, trying as much as possible to be mindful of any innocent bystanders, which he doubted he could find in this convention if his life depended on it as the cannons continued to track after him.

"So," a female voice asked over the speaker system of the Automaggedon "you sure there's no chance for us."

"Look, I'm flattered, but I'm taken." The Fearless Ferret insisted even as he came to land on the convention floor. Turning around, he suddenly found himself face to face with the front of the Automaggedon, its enormous headlights staring him down ominously.

Ron had just enough time to process the sounds of tread on floor as the tank came racing at him. He attempted to dive off to his left, but a dark brown costumed figure leapt right into him, instead knocking him to his right, the two figures coming within an inch of the tank as it sped past them.

"Ouch." Ron landed a little harder than he hoped for. "Careful… KP." Ron immediately recognized the leopard costume and the fire red mane of hair flowing out from beneath it as he came up into the eyes of his girlfriend.

"Ron, are you ok?" Kim asked in concern.

"KP, what are you doing here?" Ron's voice rose slightly at the question even as the speeding tank turned around to double back.

"Come on Ron. We've got to stop this." Kim pressed down on her own waist, pressing through her leopard costume and activating a control on her super suit beneath. The suit hummed with power, its force expanding outward, tearing away at the flimsy leopard costume revealing only Kim Possible in her world famous battle suit.

It was at this point that a collective breath was held throughout the entire convention floor. Immediately, everyone froze in their place as Kim only too late realized her mistake.

"Kim Possible!" A distant voice exclaimed in anger.

"She's here." Another shouted.

"Beep beep boop beep boop." A nearby killbot chipped, which apparently, in human, translated into 'Get her.'

All at once, mutants and henchmen alike rushed the teen heroine, dog piling onto her, burying her beneath their numbers.

"KP!" Ron attempted to rush to her aide, only to stop as every one of the horde of attacking super villains went flying off of Kim in all directions as she stood up triumphant amidst their ranks.

Ron had barely enough time to discern if she was ok as the sound of grinding tank wheels caught his attention towards the Automaggedon speeding toward him. Reacting in the span of an eye blink, the Fearless Ferret leapt up and on to the top of the speeding vehicle.

"Hey, no free rides." The female voice cried out over its speaker system.

The tank continued to tear across the convention floor, sending mobs of super villains fleeing for their safety. Suddenly the tank began to swerve, forcing the Ferret to hold on with all his strength, as several explosions began to rock the sides of the Automaggedon.

"So lassie, ye denne think me clubs 're impressive enough fer ye." Killigan cried as he dropped several more golf balls, lining up his shots. "Less see if this be changin' yer mind."

Several more small orbs flew out, each one landing closely to the tanks tires. Although the explosions were not actually powerful enough to damage the reinforced tires, the over anxious pilot inside had only just gotten her drivers license three months ago. Needless to say, she was not used to driving with loud explosions thundering all around her. As a result, she found herself losing control of the vehicle as it slowly overturned, landing on its side, skidding across the convention floor.

The Fearless Ferret was just able to leap off in time, landing safely on the floor as he helplessly watched the tank come to a grinding halt.

"Rufus? Rufus, are you ok?" Ron asked, for the first time noting his tiniest friend's absence.

It was here that a slight tugging at the side of his foot got his attention.

"Rufus!"

"Hello." Wonder Weasel waved with a smile on his face.

The Fearless Ferret had just enough time to scoop up his tiny sidekick before the sound of a latch opening caught his attention. The two turned to see a clearly woozy Squirrel Girl stumble out of the tank.

"Well now, lookee here." Squirrel Girl was too disorientated to do anything else but look up helplessly as the large golfer from earlier absolutely towered over her with a glowing putter in hand.

Killigan pulled back to strike, but was stopped as his feet were swept out from underneath him. Falling hard to the floor, Duff attempted to rise back up just as a ferret fist knocked him squarely in the face, dropping him cold.

"My hero." Squirrel Girl smiled wryly as she slowly regained her senses.

"I think you've had enough fun for one day." The Fearless Ferret took a moment to cast a spare eye over the devastated convention floor before turning back to Squirrel Girl.

"Yeah." Squirrel Girl admitted somewhat reluctantly. "Your girlfriend on the other hand, looks like her day is just getting started."

Ron's eyes went wide as he immediately turned back to where he last remembered seeing Kim. Sure enough, she was being absolutely swarmed by wave after wave of super villains and their henchmen. Kim knocked another two off their feet even as she leapt over another half a dozen advancing thugs, landing right on top of another.

It was as Kim landed an uppercut on a goon twice her size that Ron saw a spare henchman making his way past the battle and towards one of the enormous death rays on display, presumably part of a booth that was now long since completely laid to ruin. Ron heard himself call out a warning, but Kim seemed not to hear as the henchman at the controls leveled the death ray at where she stood.

The Fearless Ferret looked back to see Squirrel Girl looking at him expectantly. "If you've got a pair of handcuffs, I'll come along quietly." She teased as she placed her hands together in imitation.

"For the last time…" Ron was about to argue in frustration before he remembered himself. "Oh forget it." And with that he dashed off.

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Kim grabbed a prone thug and flung his body into an advancing hoard of henchmen, watching them all tumble over like bowling pins. She quickly turned about, dodging a pair of mechanical tentacles from the kill bot. Turning the tables; she grabbed the tentacles, and used them to spin the kill bot all around her, knocking back hench person and super villain alike all around her.

She was barely able to take the spare breath she so desperately needed when she felt a powerful frame swing in and lift her up off the convention floor just as a deep blue beam of energy scorched the ground where she had stood mere moments ago. Kim looked up as the Fearless Ferret carried her in his grip across the convention floor, landing straight next to an emergency entrance. The two tripped the fire alarm as they kicked the door open, rushing outside.

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It was sometime later as the two stood on a nearby rooftop. Rufus continued to frown at the uncomfortable silence that passed between the two as Kim looked at Ron, silently pleading for some kind of understanding.

"Just one question KP." Ron finally spoke up, pulling his mask back. "Why?"

"Ron, I couldn't just let you walk into that convention center alone." Kim insisted desperately.

"Why not? I asked you to." Ron turned about, clearly upset. "I told you I could handle this. So why follow me? You almost got yourself killed!"

"Me?" Kim voiced her incredulousness mixed with outrage. "You were the one with a giant tank chasing after you."

"I had everything under control." Ron insisted, even as he uneasily recalled the event in question. "Besides, I wasn't the one who showed my face in a room full of super villains who know what I look like."

"No." Kim shouted back. "You were the one who thought that just because you have a new super suit, that that makes you indestructible enough to walk into a super villain convention without any back up. Do you even have the first clue how dangerous that was? Even I would never try something like that."

"I'm not you!" At this, Ron exploded, startling Kim at his apparent outrage as he shouted at her. "And I don't need everything I do to be judged according to the world famous Kim Possible's standards! I can do things on my own without you."

Kim was left speechless. Her eyes wide with shock, she barely had the sense of mind to appreciate that her mouth was hanging open. "Ron…"

"Look KP, just stay out of my way. Ok." Ron fumed for a second longer before waiting for a response. "Ok?"

"Yeah." Kim replied softly. "Ok."

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"People, please tell me some good news." Jack Hench held an icepack to his forehead as he and several of his associates trudged through the ruins of the conventions.

"Well sir," Jack Hench's personal assistant began uneasily "The good news is that the Automaggedon is in relatively good condition. A few scraps on the tires, but nothing we can't fix up."

"And the bad news?"

"Well sir, I think we can expect our rates for the next convention to go up after this little incident. Also, I'm afraid I got off the phone with our insurance company an hour ago. Our rates are only going to go up if we keep having more of these 'incidents.' You know how anxious our provider has been ever since that muscle ring affair." The assistant noted mindfully.

Jack Hench tried to suppress a sigh as he took another mental survey of the damage. "Gentlemen, we are not going to be able to maintain the respect of our clients if our newest products keep getting lifted before they even hit the market."

"How would you like us to handle this sir?"

A sly smile crossed Jack Hench's face. "Why, officially, we shall handle this strictly according to the letter of the law by fully cooperating with the police investigations and offering any and all assistance we can with their investigation. And by issuing press releases to that effect."

The assistant took a large swallow before asking softly "And unofficially?"

"Spread the word." Jack Hench's smile darkened. "Hench Co. will be offering a fifteen thousand dollar line of credit to whoever brings in that squirrel lady."

The assistant stuttered his next question. "U-uh, w-would that be a-a-alive or d-dead, sir?"

"Just in one piece is fine." Jack Hench grinned.


	5. The Truth Hurts

Author's Note: So, here's how it works everyone. As my schedule starts to crystalize, I'm going to be trying to set a better writting schedule for myself to update more regularly. Thanks again so much to everyone who has read in and reviewed. I can't tell you how much it has meant to me. As always, write a review, get a response. And enjoy.

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"_Stinking Sarah!" The jeer went out, eventually joined by a chorus steadying into a cruel, harmonious tempo. "Stink-ing Sar-ah. Stink-ing Sar-ah. Stink-ing Sar-ah."_

"_Give it back!" A young, brown haired five year old continued to chase after her ball, her ball that she had brought with her from home, as the five largest, meanest looking kids young Sarah could imagine continued to pass it back and forth to themselves, surrounding her._

"_Oh. Does the little stinker want her ball back?" The ring leader taunted as he held it up high with one hand, well above Sarah's reach._

"_I don't stink." She pouted back defiantly, even as her lower lip began to quiver at the unflinching cruelty. _

"_Oop. Didn't answer my question. I guess she doesn't want it back after all." The overgrown brute mused as he tossed it to his nearest partner in crime._

"_Yes I do. Yes I do." She insisted even as she chased after it as it was passed once more around the circle before ending back in the hands of the leader._

"_Ah let her have it." One added with a smirk. "This is getting boring anyway."_

"_Yeah, why not." Another agreed, sharing an identical smirk to the last. "We only got another five minutes before the recess is over."_

_Sarah's soft blue eyes seemed to light up with hope as she noticed that the ring leader seemed to actually be contemplating the notion._

"_Ok." And with that, he turned down to Sarah. "You want your ball back, nerd? Here."_

_The small rubber ball flew right into young Sarah's face before she even had time to react. Ball and girl alike fell hard to the dirt and grass beneath as a chorus of cruel laughter rose up all around her. One by one, the small gang congratulated themselves on their victory over their prey as they walked off._

_Sarah held at her nose even as tears poured down her face. She pulled her palm back to see it covered in blood. Clutching at her ball protectively with her spare arm and continuing to hold her ball with her hand, Sarah never once dared to stand back up. Instead, she crawled over to a nearby tree, seeking sanctuary beneath its branches. Still sobbing uncontrollably, Sarah moved to the other side of the tree, facing away from the playground, where she remained hidden until the teacher called the class back inside._

_Once in line, young Sarah waited and waited for someone to ask her why her nose was bleeding. _

_She waited until her mother came to pick her up at the end of the day._

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The rough knocking on the door startled Squirrel Girl out of her less than restful slumber. Jumping up in her one person bed, the sound of wood threatening to bow inward from the force caused her to stir, stumbling out of bed as she made her way to the door of her one room apartment.

Opening the door with the chain still in place, the inch wide gap revealed the disheveled and generally unkempt face of her landlord.

"What?" She asked quickly, still slightly disorientated.

"Rent." He answered simply. "You owe me."

"Rent's due beginning of the month, it's not the beginning of the month yet." She answered quickly, trying her best to match his tough, rugged exterior even as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"You're two months behind. Now I want to get paid today or you can find yourself a new place for tonight." The five foot seven, unshaven, balding land lord crossed his arms with a resolute expression that informed Sarah he probably meant it this time. Excusing herself for a second, Sarah disappeared from the door, only to reappear half a minute later with a diamond ring in hand.

"Here." She dumped the ring into his hand before trying to close the door on him.

"Hey." A large hand held the door at bay, causing Sarah to look back at him. "What do I look like? A pawn shop?"

"There's a pawn shop three blocks over." Sarah answered angrily. "Take it there, you'll get at least enough rent for the next three months plus what I owe you."

The older man paused to examine the ring in hand before turning to cast a determined gaze at the younger girl. "If this turns out to be a fake, I'll have the cops here to barge that door down and you can spend the night in lock up."

Sarah gave no response except to force the door closed. Resetting the main lock, Sarah moved back over to her bed. She felt uncomfortable without her costume on; small, vulnerable. Moving over in her sweat pants and tank top with hours of built up bed head, Sarah sat back atop her bed, the only piece of furniture she actually had in her closet that was an apartment, and pulled her blanket over her in an attempt to calm her shivering.

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"So, how longs it been?"

"Two days." Ron let out a sigh at the question as he remained focused on his game before him. "Two days and not so much as a tail hair or spare acorn."

"No, not that." Monique waved dismissively as she leaned against the arcade console which seemed to hold Ron's attention far better than she did; a fact she struggled and failed to conceal her indignation at. "I mean, how long has it been since you talked to Kim?"

"Bout the same." Ron answered without flinching as he continued to slam his fingers against the buttons and controls before him.

A firm blow slapped against the back of Ron's head, causing him to loose his focus. Ron cried in a slight pain, holding the struck area as his ship was killed by a stray alien blast, the chimes of the game signaling that it was over.

"Hey." Ron bit back as he rubbed his head. "What was that for?"

"Boy, you're lucky I stopped with just one." Monique fumed angrily as she shook her fist, indicating that she was capable of far worse. "When a boy turns away from a girl as fine as me or Kim, particularly me, then he's got a slapping and worse coming to him."

"Monique, cut it out." Ron dismissed of her even as he moved over to the change machine to exchange another five dollar bill for more tokens.

"Why are you avoiding Kim?" Monique cut straight to the chase, even as she pretended to ignore Ron looking away from her.

"I'm not avoiding her. We just haven't talked in a little while." Ron insisted as he scooped up the shiny, valueless coins into his hand, turning to walk away from Monique in apparent search for a new game.

"Two days." Monique emphasized as she chased after him. "You two haven't spent that much time apart in years."

"Not since Camp Wannaweep." Ron admitted as he inserted two more coins into another nearby game to start it up.

"And?" She huffed.

"And what?" Ron answered simply as he immediately began playing his game.

"Boy, if you don't look at me right now, I swear, you're gonna get a hurtin' worse than anything Shego ever did to you." Monique insisted as she pulled Ron away from his game, ignoring the back dropping sounds of the game signaling his character had quickly died as a result of his inaction, steadying a look that seared away the apathy that had decorated the freckled blonde's features as she held his arms in her hands.

Ron, for himself, could only manage a pitiful gulp at Monique's ire.

"Now, what is your damage?" She asked finally.

"What?" Ron asked defensively.

Ron's question was answered with another slap up the side of his head from an already angry Monique.

"Hey." Ron shouted back as he continued to rub the side of his head.

"Don't you play dumb with me." Monique trapped Ron's gaze with her own. "Why are you avoiding Kim?"

"Maybe I don't want to talk to Kim right now." Ron reasoned aloud with a tone of voice that wouldn't have convinced a three year old child.

Another slap up the side of Ron's head caused him to cry out again.

"Would you stop hitting me?" Ron cried out angrily.

"You ever say anything that stupid again and I'll do worse than hit you." Monique threatened as she aimed her finger pointedly at Ron. "Now why are you avoiding Kim?"

Monique held her hands angrily against her hips, warning Ron that any more dismissive or half thought answers would only result in his further physical injury. Finally relenting, Ron replied simply "KP doesn't trust me."

At this, Monique gave Ron an incredulous look that only caused the young blonde to tense expectantly.

"Are you going to hit me again?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"I'm thinking about it." Monique replied as she crossed her arms, clearly upset. "Ron, you know Kim trusts you with her life."

"She trusts me to back her up." Ron answered, the anger in his voice slowly being replaced with a deep rooted regret. "She trusts me to be her side kick. But she doesn't trust me when I'm out on my own."

"Is this about that convention?" Monique asked. When Ron shot her a questioning look, Monique quickly explained "I heard."

"Oh good." Ron shot his hands up in frustration. "What, is Kim telling everyone what a screw up I am? Everyone having a good laugh at my expense around the water cooler now? Is that…"

Ron was cut off as a hard, cold slap across the face quickly silenced him. Ron spun back around to see a seething furious Monique venting angry breaths as she leaned in, backing him against a wall.

"Ron, you listen and you listen good." Monique threatened through gritted teeth. "It is physically impossible for Kim to love and/or trust you any more than she already does and if I wasn't absolutely positive that it would break my girlfriend's heart, I would put you in a hospital bed trying to beat the sense into you that you need."

Ron was utterly speechless. He still couldn't speak over the stinging on his right cheek as Monique trapped him with her words, cutting off every response he might think to craft.

"Now before you say any more bull that forces me to hurt you, I want to know, right now, what is your problem?" Monique backed off slightly, giving Ron just enough room to breathe as she re-crossed her arms, expectantly.

"I…" Ron choked on his own words, still dizzy from the proverbial cold water that had been splashed on his face until he finally choked out "I don't deserve her!"

"Oh no." Monique sighed, her face falling. "Ron, I thought you two were past this already."

"Well, that was before I couldn't even catch a teenage squirrel lady with my own battle suit!" Ron explained pitifully, his face falling in defeat.

Monique let out a sympathetic sigh before pulling Ron past the arcades and bad cheese pizza, dragging him outside. Once out in the cool, crisp air, Monique took a moment to allow Ron to gather his breath, a moment which she could see he clearly needed before continuing.

"Now, let's start over from the beginning." She offered with a much friendlier smile.

"No more hitting?" Ron asked hopefully.

"Promise." Monique held her hands behind her back as the two walked on. "Now, start over."

"Well," Ron let out with a sigh to indicate he was gathering his breath. "When KP gave me my own battle suit, it was so badical." He admitted with a proud smile. "I mean, I know I didn't deserve it after I 'borrowed' it that one time, but it was soo cool. I mean, those things are so sweet."

"Mmm-hmm." Monique hummed with an amused smile.

"And you can do anything with one of those." Ron couldn't contain his awe as he went on. "I mean, the super suit can practically fly, it's got the stealth mode, and the defense mode, and the disco mode…"

"Disco mode?" Monique asked with arched eyebrows.

"Wade was watching 'Thursday Night Sickness' when he built the first one." Ron explained simply. "My suit's got it too."

"So didn't need to know that." Monique insisted surely.

"And I was all pumped and then… and then I still couldn't catch her." Ron's mood fell like a sack of bricks at the memory.

"You mean Chipmunk Lady?"

"Squirrel Girl." Ron corrected quickly.

"Whatever." Monique waved dismissively. "Well, what was the big deal about that?"

"Cause Kim trusted me." Ron explained, clearly upset. "She thought even I could handle it and I let her down."

"Ron," Monique fought the urge to roll her eyes in frustration and lost. "Kim still trusts you."

"Why?" Ron looked back to Monique in sincere desperation. "I can't even catch some teenaged super villain with a tail, and that's when I have my own super suit! If I can't do that, then what good am I?"

At this, an overpowering wave of depression seemed to decorate Ron's features, causing Monique's face in response to soften in sympathy.

"I need to be better than this, but what if I'm not. I mean, how am I supposed to help Kim against Shego or Duff Killigan if I can't handle some girl with a tail and acorns." Ron went out, clearly distraught over the idea. "What if she really needed me and I let her down? What if…"

Monique silenced Ron again, this time with a simple finger over his lips.

"Ron, I think it is really sweet and noble of you to want to be your best for Kim. But I think you're going about it all wrong." Monique explained warmly.

"Huh?" Ron's expression clearly informed her that he didn't have the first clue what she was talking about.

"If you want to be there for Kim, then just be there for her." Monique explained simply. "You always have in the past. Just keep doing what you've been doing."

"You mean losing my pants and getting chased by monkeys?" Ron asked with a slight twinge of disbelief.

"Ok, that part, you can cut back on." Monique admitted. "But if you really want to be a better person, and I think it's great that you do, do it for yourself, not for Kim."

"Why?"

"Ron, anyone who's great at anything is great because they want to be, not because someone else wants them to be. That's the only way it sticks." Monique explained.

"Wow." Ron took a moment to muse over her words, trying to recall which famous philosopher or poet had first uttered them. "Pretty slick. Who said that?"

"I did." Monique answered obviously. "Just now. You want some more words of wisdom?"

Ron just shrugged. "Sure."

"Never leave your girlfriend hanging for two days." Monique paused at this to cast a knowing glance at Ron as if she'd just caught him with his hand in the cookie jaw. "She might get the crazy idea in her head you don't like spending time with her."

"Heh." Ron laughed nervously as he rubbed his hand over the back of his head anxiously. "I did that thing I do where I screw up, didn't I?"

"Yep." Monique answered with a smile as her hand found its way over to Ron's face, giving a gentle, loving tap to his left cheek. "Now go do that thing you do where you make Kim love you all over again anyway."

Ron smiled, leaning in to give Monique a large hug before turning to run off. "Thanks Mon. You rock all kinds of out loud."

"Hey Ron." Monique called out quickly, stopping Ron suddenly in his tracks. "Think flowers."

"Right. Flowers." Ron repeated aloud before turning to run again.

"And chocolates." Monique added, stopping him again.

"Right. Flowers and chocolates. Anything else?"

"Don't forget groveling."

Ron paused a moment, waiting for any traces of humor within Monique's voice. Finding none, he made his way back towards his parked scooter, repeating to himself. "Flowers, chocolates, groveling. Flowers, chocolates, groveling."

Monique stood there for a few minutes longer, watching Ron mutter to himself in repetition before smiling, whispering "Go get her Ron. Go do what you do best."

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Kim sat in her room as she cast a disinterested glance over the pages of her book, scanning over the words of her latest harlequin romance novel without reading them. In a spare moment, she realized that she had now read the same page at least half a dozen times in the last minute.

Frustrated, Kim threw the book across the room, aiming for her trashcan. The novel landed in the bin with a resounding thud, much to Kim's satisfaction. But as satisfaction quickly passed, Kim once again found herself with no way to pass the maddening isolation.

Kim cursed her eyes as they wandered over to a picture on her nightstand of her and Ron as young children making ugly faces at the camera. She tried to focus her attentions on something else, but instead, her hand moved of its own accord, and against Kim's mental protests, picking up the picture and pulling it close, examining it.

Emerald eyes studied the picture with a fierce intensity, scanning it as if for answers. For help and guidance it didn't seem to offer.

She was losing Ron. She just knew it. Ever since she had given him that super suit, it felt like they were drifting further and further apart. Now, every time she looked at him, tried to touch him, it only seemed to make him more and more angry with her. What was she doing wrong? What was she supposed to do to make it right?

It wasn't that she didn't trust him. She did, really she did. She knew it.

Then, as an idle thought she would have preferred not to have occurred to her, Kim wondered when the last time was that she had shown it.

The chime of the Kimmunicator interrupted her troubled brooding. Grateful for the distraction, Kim quickly picked it up.

"Go Wade."

"Kim, we've got a big problem." Wade stated urgently.

"What's the sitch?" She sat at attention, contemplating the possibility of a mission and her and Ron going out in the field again, together.

"I've been monitoring the chatter among the super villain community after the incident at the convention. Turns out, someone just put the hit out on Squirrel Girl."

"What? Who?" Kim could scarcely believe it.

"Apparently, Hench Co has put a fifteen thousand dollar reward for Squirrel Girl. It's not official, but the word on the underground is they're extending a line of credit for whoever brings her in for attacking their sales display."

"Dead or alive?"

"Doesn't specify." Wade answered gravely. The lack of specifics was answer enough.

"Does Ron know?" She asked; a new resolve and purpose flowing through her.

"Don't know. Haven't been able to reach him yet. This is hot off the underground Kim. With so many villains still in town after the convention, they're going to be all over this."

"Wade, where's Ron right now?"

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_Pride. Joy. Sheer bliss. As Sarah walked down the halls of Remington High in her new cheer uniform, she couldn't help herself as these emotions continued to bubble within her. She felt light as air, as if she could practically float across the halls if she so wanted._

_Sarah stopped to look down at herself in her uniform for what must of have been the fifth time since arriving to school. The school colors of green and white as they ran across her caught her eyes and would not let go. _

"_Well, look at you."_

_The crassness of the voice was lost upon her as Sarah looked up to see her fellow teammates. _

"_Hi Blair, hi Stephanie, hi Sasha." Sarah greeted her newfound sisters in arms enthusiastically as she practically beamed to see their uniforms, each a perfect match to her own._

"_Yeah, hi Sally." The leader, Blair, replied dismissively._

"_Sarah." She corrected quickly._

"_Excuse me, don't correct me." The head cheer leader instructed sternly, disregarding the slight disheartenment that crossed Sarah's face. "Now, as I was saying Sally…"_

_For a moment, Sarah prepared to correct her, but her chance quickly passed her by as Blair continued on._

"… _I understand that you are thinking of asking Bret Marshall to the cheer party this Friday." Blair stated accusingly._

"_W-well," Sarah blushed fiercely as she tried to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear._

"_I…" Blair spoke up again, cutting Sarah off once more "thought you should know that Bret is taking me to the party. I just figured you should know so that you don't embarrass yourself by doing anything so foolish as asking him."_

"_B-but he didn't say anything about it to me when I talked to him at the end of class a few minutes ago." Sarah stuttered, still confused by this sudden announcement._

"_Ah." Blair didn't seem the slightest bit concerned by this. "Well that's because he doesn't know yet. You see, what I'm sure you would know if you weren't such a freak is that there is a certain ladder, a hierarchy, a food chain if you will, that says how things work around here. People like Bret and me are at the top of that chain, so it's only natural that he take me to the party and not some freshman like you."_

"_But B-bret's a freshman too." Sarah stuttered, her voice losing volume. Bret had been one of the nicest, sweetest boys that Sarah had ever met. She'd been working up the courage for months to ask him out, and now that the squad was holding a party, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to go as 'just friends and maybe a little more.'_

"_Yes he is… whose father owns his own private jet company." Blair explained snidely. "Obviously, he'd want to be with someone who can appreciate these qualities in him, like… me." At this, the brunette gave one of the most self satisfied grins that Sarah had ever seen._

"_Well, I-I can appreciate t-that too." Sarah defended herself feebly._

"_Look, Sally," Blair was clearly loosing her patience. "This is just how it works, ok. Now, I'm sorry if you can accept that, but the plain truth is…" at this, Blair's tone deepened in such a way that made Sarah feel ten inches smaller "that Bret is taking me to the party. And if you can't accept that, then maybe I made a mistake putting you on the squad in the first place. Maybe you're just not the kind of person that Remington High needs as a cheerleader."_

"_I…" Sarah could feel the spark of defiance within her grow, could feel it flicker and burn within her. And then, as she made the mistake of once again making eye contact with her nemesis, it faded. "I understand."_

"_Good." Blair smiled before quickly snapping her fingers, signaling to her posse as they walked off, leaving Sarah standing alone in the hall ways, struggling to bring her breathing under control as a lone tear fell down her face._

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The sound of wood being pounded upon once again caught Sarah's attention as she finished redressing herself in her costume. Squirrel Girl gave the door a dispassionate stare before pulling back her mask and making her way back to the door. Opening the lock, but leaving the chain still in its place, Sarah again pulled the door open an inch to see who it was.

The landlord stood there, a slight unease to his expression as he looked up at her. "We need to talk."

"Look, the ring's real and the rent is paid, ok. Just go away." In no mood for any more nonsense, Sarah slammed the door shut, resetting the lock.

Sarah had not taken three steps away from the door before the prone figure of the landlord came flying right through, smashing the door to wooden splinters and fragments as he fell to the floor, knocked unconscious by the impact.

Sarah had barely enough time to look down on the still figure by her feet before she looked up through what used to be her door way.

"Well hello there, lassie." A thick Scottish accent greeted her as a large man in a kilt carrying a heavy bag of gold clubs over his side came into her view. "Fancy meeting you here."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ron brought the breaks on his scooter to a stop as he waited patiently at the intersection, still gripping at the hastily assembled bouquet and heart shaped chocolate box in hand as he steered with his free arm.

"'KP, I'm sorry.'" Ron rehearsed, unsatisfied with the tone as he continued to stare at the red light, hoping it would not change until he was finished practicing his speech. "No, 'KP I am so sorry.' Hmm, getting better." He thought aloud to himself. "'KP, I know I was a total…'"

A small explosion erupted within a window not a block down the street, throwing glass onto the sidewalk beneath. Horns honked and people began to cry out in surprise as another explosion followed by another continued to emanate from the same location.

"Oh man. Nothing like a little mayhem and violence before making up to your girlfriend, huh buddy?"

Ron looked down to see Rufus had already poked his head out of his pocket. Noting the cause of the commotion all around him, the naked mole rat ducked back down into Ron's pocket before re-emerging with a familiar brown mask over his face.

"Yeah, why not." Ron thought aloud. "This looks like a job for…"


	6. Ghosts In The Shadows

Author's Note: Well, it's been a while, but I've finally gotten around to updating Hero's Legacy. Sorry to keep everyone waiting, but for the longest time, I was trying to figure out the direction I was most comfortable with taking this story. I've finally found it and now hope to update again more often. Thanks to everyone who has waited and stuck by me. This is for you.

Write a review, get a response.

--

The club came within inches of her face, tearing through the cheap paint and plaster behind her as Squirrel Girl ducked down beneath the attack at her. Given no time to think, she could only react as Duff Killigan took another swing at her, followed by another and another.

"Achk! Stand still! Ye be worse than Kim Possible." Killigan cursed as she continued to match his aim with her agility.

Squirrel Girl never quite appreciated the nature of the compliment as the head of Killigan's shaft finally came straight up into her midsection, knocking the wind right out of her. Without hesitating, Duff followed through with another strike that knocked her off her feet and into the wall behind her.

Dazed and disorientated, Sarah looked up to see the Scottish madman towering over her with a look of sinister glee.

His victory was shattered as the wall to the side with the only window in the whole room crashed, giving way to the powerful, brown figure leaping in.

"Hey kids. The neighbors have been complaining."

"Achk, mind ye own business Badger Boy." Killigan dismissed the sight as he turned back towards his cowering prey.

"Not a… uhmm, I'm a ferret." Ron was about to reply heroically when his attention was distracted.

"What?"

"Ferret. I'm the Fearless Ferret." Ron explained as he indicated to his costume.

Killigan paused as he cast a critical eye over the costume question. "Nay. Tha' be a badger suit."

"Sorry dude. It's a ferret."

Squirrel Girl decided to end the debate for good. Having regained a hold of her senses, she kicked out with her left leg, knocking Killigan clean off his feet. The lumbering brute fell over with a resounding thud on the ground. Even as he attempted to rise up to his feet, he came straight up into a well placed fist to his face.

"Nice shot." Squirrel Girl noted, obviously impressed.

"Don't start." The Fearless Ferret warned humorlessly, even as he grabbed her by the hand, leading her out of the room for the stairs. "We've got to get moving."

"Why?" She asked as the two made their way down the stairs, coming straight out the front door.

"Because unless I'm wrong you're in…" The Fearless Ferret stopped in his tracks. Waiting right outside for both Ferret and Squirrel alike, a hoard of WWEE henchmen, led by their infamous leader Gemini, stood in a line, blocking all hope of escape. "…big trouble."

"Greetings my little Squirrel Lady…" Gemini began with his most 'pleasant' introductions.

"Squirrel Girl." Sarah corrected with a quickness that told Ron she didn't have the first clue who she was dealing with.

"… And to you Muskrat Man."

"No, I'm the Fearless Ferret." Ron insisted as he indicated to one of his pockets containing Rufus. "And this is Wonder Weasel, my trusty sidekick."

A soft snore escaped the side pocket in the Fearless Ferret's costume.

Gemini regarded the costume a second longer, unimpressed.

"Uh, excuse me." Squirrel Girl interjected. "Not to be rude, but do you guys always do this?"

"Yeah, it's a thing." The Fearless Ferret replied.

"Standard part of the hero villain dialogue." Gemini explained plainly. "Very common. Now, young lady, you and I have a date with fifteen thousand dollars, so if you'll just come with me."

"Sorry, she's with me." The Fearless Ferret stepped in front of Squirrel Girl to shield her with his own body.

"Very well." Gemini merely snapped his fingers as the dozen or so henchmen accompanying him drew heavy energy riffles. Leveling them all at the pair, each one of the line took aim and fired.

Having only seconds to react, the Fearless Ferret threw his arms around Squirrel Girl even as he reached down to his control belt. A flick of a specific switch later saw his personal force field activate, shielding them both as blaster fire hammered away at the field, bouncing off harmlessly.

"Wicked." Squirrel Girl smirked as her voice echoed within the small bubble of brown, oscillating energy. "Where can I get a costume like that?"

"Cereal. They have the coolest prizes at the bottom of those boxes." Looking up, the Fearless Ferret had to do a quick visual guesstimate of the height to the top of the apartment complex that they had just run out of. A fight out in the open was out of the question now with the possibility of laser fire hitting the wrong side of the wrong building, which left only one other option.

Flight.

Activating the boosters at the base of his feet as he shut off his force field, Ron quickly grabbed Squirrel Girl, shooting the both of them high up into the air and out of sight.

"After them!" Gemini cried out as his men quickly raced to assorted hover bikes they had parked nearby. "Scour the area. Find them!"

--

The peddle was pressed to its proverbial metal as Kim Possible hauled with all speed towards downtown.

"Wade, you sure about this?"

On the view monitor within Kim's car, Wade replayed the black and white snap shot. "I just caught Duff Killligan in downtown Middleton. Less than five minutes ago. Only one reason he'd still be in town."

"Squirrel Girl." Kim's foot never so much as grazed the brake peddle as she made a sharp left hand turn, her tires screeching in protest as she drove on, apparently unconcerned by the more than unsafe nature of her driving.

"Watch it Kim!" Wade warned with all the tone of an unwelcomed and overly worried backseat driver. "Ever since that incident with Motor Ed and Shego, you don't have as many favors with the DMV left."

"So not the drama right now." Kim bit her lip as she continued to haul down the streets. "Wade, if Killigan is downtown right now, then that's where Squirrel Girl is. And if that's where Squirrel Girl is, then that's where Ron will be."

--

"Sir, they're not here." The first of seven henchmen replied as all eight, Gemini included, remained transfixed atop hover bikes over the rooftop that Squirrel Girl and Fearless Ferret had escaped and apparently disappeared atop of.

"Split up!" Gemini ordered. "Call in more men. Seal off this area and establish a perimeter. They will not slip away. Find them."

One by one, orders were issued and Gemini directed his men away in search. As they left, two figures materialized, huddled together originally for protection under the Fearless Ferret's cloaking field.

"Far out." Squirrel Girl whistled as she checked to confirm that she could still see herself. "Where'd you say you got those threads?"

"Mail order. You can get the coolest things from the back of comic books these days." Ron joked without laughing as he peaked down over the edge of the building as hover bikes began to patrol the area. "They won't stick around for too long without risking someone calling GJ. We need to stay put."

"Stay put?" Squirrel Girl asked in disbelief even as she cracked her knuckles with eagerness. "You waiting for an invitation to this party because I was just planning on crashing."

Ron brought his hand over her enthusiastic fist, catching her attention. "Hey, this is not a game. We need to get down from here, without them seeing us. Now come on." He said as he grabbed her, dragging her off the roof and towards a fire escape that led down the side of the building to the street below.

The two hurried their way until finally coming down the street. Hugging close to the side of the building, Squirrel Girl decided to follow his lead as the Fearless Ferret made his way down the alley and towards the street, peaking around the side of the corner for a split second before ducking back at the sight of two passing hover bikes.

"Not good." The Fearless Ferret said, looking back at Squirrel Girl. "We're going to need a distraction if we're going to get out of here." Suddenly, Ron's eyes lit with inspiration as he reached into his side pocket.

Squirrel Girl looked in disbelief as the Fearless Ferret retrieved a cell phone and sped dialed a number. "Oh please don't tell me you're calling the cops."

"Much better." The Fearless Ferret winked as his call went through. "Hello, Wade?" Squirrel Girl tried to listen to the other side of the conversation without success. "Yeah listen, I need a phone number." Putting the phone to the side for a second, Ron looked rather embarrassed as he asked Squirrel Girl "Can you do impressions?"

--

Gemini continued to survey the area even as he glanced at his watch. This wasn't going at all according to plan. It should have been as simple as finding the Squirrel Lady and snatching her. Instead, that Muskrat Man had showed up and ruined the entire operation. It was only a matter of time before their actions attracted the police, and a matter of minutes after that before his sister and her accursed army of do-gooders showed up.

"Sir!" Another henchman rode up to him, hover bike and all.

"Where are the rest of the men I ordered?" He asked angrily.

"On the way sir. But sir-"

"Well tell them to hurry!" Gemini ordered.

"Yes sir. But sir-"

"WHAT?!"

"Phone sir." The henchman replied meekly as he handed the cell phone to Gemini. "It's your mother."

Gemini went white as a ghost, his eye growing wide with terror as he swallowed nervously. With trembling hands, he reached out, grabbing the phone, swallowing once more as he asked "Mom?"

"Dear?" The voice asked over a loud static. "Dear, is that you?"

"Uh, hello Mom. So nice to hear from you." Gemini vented what felt like gallons of nervous sweet pooling around his collar, completely ignoring another henchman as he approached on foot.

"Sir, our reinforcements have arrived."

Gemini placed his metallic hand over the phone as he hissed at the henchman "I am on the phone!" Removing his hand to speak again. "So mom, how are you? Did you get the flowers I sent you for mother's day?"

--

"What did he say?" Ron asked as he and Squirrel Girl remained crouched in the alley.

"He wants to know if I got his mother's day flowers." Squirrel Girl covered the phone with her hand as she whispered to the Fearless Ferret for advice.

"Say no. But tell him you got a lovely bouquet from Betty."

Squirrel Girl brought Ron's cell phone back to her lips, remembering to keep the phone angled so that she didn't pick up any extra bars which might otherwise clear up the signal and give her away. "Why no dear. But Betty sent me the most absolutely delightful bouquet. Was she supposed to send it from both of you?"

"Oh, ahh… why yes." Gemini insisted even as he cowered away from the large assemblage of his own men who stood, patiently awaiting their orders. "I guess she must have forgotten to write my name on the card."

"Oh why that's ok dear. It's the thought that counts." Squirrel Girl continued her best impersonation of an elder lady. "Especially since you couldn't send them yourself."

Ron had to throw his hands over his mouth to keep from bursting in laughter before instructing "Now ask him why he never calls."

Squirrel Girl followed his lead. "Deary, you sound stressed. Is something wrong? You know, you hardly ever call."

"Oh, don't I?" Gemini felt his top-of-the-line antiperspirant break. "Well I was going to but you know how busy I get."

"Oh of course dear. That's obviously why you couldn't even send flowers." Squirrel Girl put the phone aside as she whispered to the Fearless Ferret "Where does he work?"

Ron just shrugged. "I don't know. Just tell him that you've heard from Betty recently. She's his sister."

Squirrel Girl spoke into the phone. "You know your sister Betty always finds time to visit. Last time, she even brought me some candy"

Although neither could hear it over the phone, something within Gemini physically snapped under the pressure as he forced out in reply the words "Yes mom."

"Of course, it's not a competition. You know how happy I always am to see both of you. Of course, it would be nice to see you for a change instead of just always her..."

"Yes. Mom." Gemini was seconds away from going mad…der. However, his mental snap was interrupted by a purple tinted speed machine as it burst onto the scene. A flash of red and a new mission suit leapt straight through the roof and into the air, landing straight atop two henchmen. "Kim Possible!" Gemini hurriedly picked up the phone. "Mom, I've got to go, bye."

Squirrel Girl looked down at the phone in her hand even as she turned back to the Fearless Ferret, whose eyes had widened with excitement at the sight of the action on the street. "Alright, go KP!" He remained fixed on the sight of her in action. "Ok, this is our chance. We've got to run for it. While she's keeping them busy, we…" a loud thunk interrupted the Fearless Ferret. The heavy brick smacked into the back of his skull, knocking him out cold.

"Sorry cutie. Appreciate the help, but I can take it from here."

--

Kim knocked another oversized thug in the trademark purple uniform off his feet. She just glared at the three more charging at her.

"Well, this is a headache I can do well without." Gemini leveled his mechanical hand at Kim, his fingers detaching and firing off as a series of tiny rockets. Each of the rockets seemed to carry the corner of a large net that enveloped Kim Possible, scooping her up as the thumb rocket tied the net together, nailing it into the side of a building.

Satisfied, Gemini signaled to the rest of his men. "Hurry, GJ will be here in minutes if they've sent their favorite freshman after us."

"Excuse me, I'm a senior now." Kim glared at Gemini as she tugged at the ropes of her net.

"Yes, well, good for you. Now hurry." Gemini ordered as he and his men sped away atop their hover bikes. "And someone remind me to pick up some flowers while we're in town. We have to visit my mother."

--

Ron opened his eyes to find himself outside, surrounded by fog. Through the thick haze, the outlines of playground equipment lying inert and unused around him could just be made out.

His ears caught a soft sound upon the wind coming from his side. He turned over to see a small figure crouched down in terror beside the slide. Walking cautiously so as not to startle, Ron looked down upon the small, freckle faced blonde clutching to himself for comfort and security.

Young Ronnie looked up at Ron; his eyes revealed that he had clearly been crying.

"Hey there." Ron spoke softly, his voice an empty shell of itself.

"C-can you help me?" Ronnie asked over his soft sobs. "I'm lost."

"Me too." Ron answered back emptily.

"We need to find Kim. She's smarter than us. She'll know what to do" his younger self explained.

"Yeah." Ron had to agree with the sentiment.

"No." A voice caught Ron and Ronnie's attention from the side. Ron looked over to where a hand had come to rest on his shoulder to see a brown costume sporting the resemblance of a ferret with a familiar pattern of freckles beneath its mask as it turned to him. "You've relied on her all your life. But you don't have to. You're strong. Stronger than you or her realize."

"But she takes care of us." Ronnie retorted. Ron remained silent as his younger self and his heroic alter ego argued, staring at them both with a lifeless demeanor.

"That's in the past. We grew up." The Fearless Ferret turned to Ron, looking him squarely in the eye. "It's time to stop defining yourself by her. By what she has done and by what she has done for you. You are your own man now. You are a hero."

"A hero? Him?" A new voice, far crueler and far more eerily familiar echoed across the entire field. All three eyes turned as a blue skinned figure in a purple and black costume stepped slowly, confidently out of the fog, his arms crossed over his chest. "And here I thought I was the crazy one. Booyahahahahahaha!"

"Villain!" The Fearless Ferret cried out as he starred down Zorpox the Conqueror. "You are deluded. But I won't let you get away with your madness anymore."

The Fearless Ferret leapt across the field to where Zorpox stood. Landing at his side, he threw a kick at his villainous doppelganger, but the attack was quickly blocked. The two quickly launched themselves into battle, their movements resembling as much an elaborate ballet as a round of physical combat.

"Aren't you going to help him?"

Ron looked down at his younger self staring up at him with a confused, frightened expression and found himself wondering just which 'him' he meant.

"No." A firm, resolved voice declared. Ron spun around to see a great warrior, his face worn by battle and time standing before him, his blonde hair hanging freely from his sides. He spoke directly to Ron, his confident eyes boring directly into the young mans. "Leave them to their silly costumes and foolish charades. Sensei taught you better than that. You have a destiny before you. You cannot falter now."

"Oh yeah." Zorpox taunted as both he and the Fearless Ferret, having apparently abandoned their battle, both walked towards Ron, flanking him. "Gotta give the ninja nut credit there. You and I have a lot of work ahead of us."

"No." The Fearless Ferret countered even as his attention remained fixed upon Ron. "You are a hero. It's time to act like it. You have the costume. You have the mantle. Live up to them."

"Being a hero is about more than costumes and gimmicks." The warrior countered, and Ron saw that he too had focused all his attention on the confused Stoppable. "It's about action. It's about what's inside of you."

"I've seen what's inside him." Zorpox taunted as Ron spun around, trying to keep up with the different 'hims' as they talked. "And what's inside him is me." At this point, Zorpox's voice seemed to focus away from the others and solely on Ron. "Face it; the only thing you were ever good at was being bad. It's the only time in your life you've ever really stood out on your own."

"That's not true." Ron spun around at the Fearless Ferret's voice. "You carry the mantle of a hero. It was passed on to you. You cannot abandon it now. It is who you are."

"Your destiny is before you." The warrior caught Ron's attention. "You cannot falter."

"You've already seen the darkness inside of you." Zorpox smiled smugly even as Ron threw his hands over his ears in a desperate but futile attempt to block out the endless sound. "You can't run away from it."

"But what about Kim?" Ronnie retorted. "We need her."

"Shut up!" Ron finally cried out in surrender. "Shut up, shut up!" He closed his eyes and without looking, rushed past the different versions of himself, leaving them all behind.

Ron didn't know how long he ran. He just ran. He gasped and heaved as he pushed himself deeper and deeper into the endless forest and boundless fog before finally coming to a rest, leaning against a tree for a moment to catch his breath.

"You look a little upset." For the first time, a truly friendly voice reached out to Ron, catching him, calming him. He turned about to see a familiar crimson mane, piercing green eyes, a flash of blue pants and a lime green tank top, all toped off by a warm smile, come to rescue him as it had so many times in the past. She sat, the perfect model of tranquility and calm, beneath a familiar tree, watched over by its branches and relaxed against its rough bark.

"Hey." Ron spoke with a slight caution in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you look like you could use a best friend right now. Besides, I thought it was time that I was the distraction for a change." She gave an amused smile at the irony of her words, but the smile softened in humility. "Come on," she tapped at a patch of grass next to her side invitingly. "Sit down. Take a load off."

Ron looked at the bare ground next to her longingly, and didn't need to be asked twice. Without hesitation, he moved next to her, laying his weary back against the surprisingly comforting tree as his head fell against her shoulders.

He sat there against her, and in less than a second, revealed to her all his troubles and worries, his fears and concerns, all without saying a word.

"Wow." She let out softly in concern.

"I know." He concurred as his head slowly came to rise on its own. "So what do you think?"

"I think," she paused as she carefully prepared her answer, looking away for a moment in thought before returning her gaze back to his side "that you have a lot to think about."

"Yeah I know." He rolled his eyes in frustration. "That's why I asked… oh never mind." His head sank slightly in surrender.

"What do you want me to say Ron?" She looked at him with regret. "I'm just a dream."

"No way." Ron shook his dismissively of her statement. "Sorry, not buying it. If you were my dream, you would be wearing something totally different."

"You mean like my cheer outfit?" She asked with a sultry seduction as she twisted slightly where she sat to model the aforementioned outfit as it clung to her body.

"Whoa." Ron's jaw just dropped, preventing him from saying anything else as his eyes took in the sudden and apparently seamless change in attire.

"Oh, forgot." She feigned a blush as she stopped in her tracks. "You liked the original uniform better, right?" She teased as she modeled the original, mostly blue mad dog cheer uniform from her junior year.

"Ok, this is a dream." Ron had to admit she had him dead to rights. Suddenly, inspiration flashed across his eyes as he scanned the surrounding forest with anticipation. "Which means, any second now, Yori and Tara should be along and then we all…"

"Ron!" She slapped at his side, drawing his attention back. "You're not supposed to tell your girlfriend these things, even if you are dreaming."

"Sorry." He smiled sheepishly, feigning a laugh. "Just testing." Ron paused, looking down in the grass again before looking back up to her. "So, what are you doing here? I mean, since the theme around here seems to be…" Ron caught himself before having to finish his thoughts aloud as realization dawned upon him, his eyes widening as he looked up and forward. "Oh, I get it."

She gave him loving smile as she cuddled up to him, wrapping her hands around his. "It's very sweet of you Ron." She assured him.

"You've always been the best part of me, you know." He stated certainly, still looking down in to the ground as his voice began to sink slightly. "Back when I thought I was going to lose you, I felt like I was losing my whole world."

"That's sweet Ron," she smiled endearingly to him even as she took his hand within her own while taking her spare hand up to his chin. "But we're not here about me" she explained sincerely, leveling her flawless emerald eyes at him. "We're here about you."

Trapped within those eyes as he had been his whole life, Ron found himself once again confronted by the same question he had so desperately turned to her for refuge from. "Who am I?"

"You're you." She answered simply.

Ron's expression fell. "That is so amazingly unhelpful."

She looked back at him with an amused shrug. "What do you want me to say? That you're a super hero, a super villain, a warrior…?"

"Well…" he paused to look down at the ground in contemplation before returning his gaze to her "am I?"

"If you really want to be." She shrugged again. "It's up to you. Personally, I try to keep things simple."

"Ok, simple is good." Ron nodded hopefully. "I like simple. So what is simple?"

"Simple." She gave a smile to reveal her amusement at her own play on words. "You're Ron Stoppable. Just be that."

"That's it?" He asked quickly.

"That's it." She replied with a knowing smile. "Simple."

"Simple." Ron repeated to himself aloud, impressed with the truth of it all. "Wow, that really is simple."

"I knew you'd like it." She smiled back at him as she lay her head down upon his shoulder, her eyes closing with contentment as she came to rest peacefully on him.

"Heh, thanks." He tried to keep down his irrepressible contentment, but he just couldn't help but to feel good about himself. "Thanks for being there for me when I need you."

Slowly, her head rose back to his, those piercing eyes again filling him with utter peace as they explained to him quite clearly "People who love each other don't have to thank each other Ron. And you and I are long past 'thank you'."

"I know." He smiled as he drew her head back to its resting place on his shoulder, his own head coming to rest slightly against hers. "I just felt like saying it anyway."

--

Kim leveled her wrist Kimmunicator at the net holding her. It may have appeared to be nothing more than simple rope, but knowing WWEE, the threads composing this rope wouldn't be cut by a chainsaw. Lucky, the laser in her Kimmunicator was a lot more than any chainsaw.

Cutting fiercely at the net, she quickly freed herself, dropping down to the street below. Quickly, her eyes darted around for any sign of… well, anything. Ron, Killigan, at this point she'd even settle for another shot at Squirrel Girl.

That especially seemed to appeal to her. Her week having been going the way it had been going, she could just start to figure out a way in which this was all Squirrel Girl's fault. Already, she savored the idea of working out her frustrations on the girl's face.

--

A slight throbbing accompanied a series of soft moans as the unconscious figure slowly began to stir and awaken.

"Ochk! Achk! Wha' hit me?"

"That would be an overgrown ferret."

Duff Killigan's eyes shot wide open. He looked around to see himself dangling upside down from a ceiling in a dark lit room, securely bound by rope. As he scanned around further, he saw the familiar squirrel appareled lassie from before standing before him.

"Wha' da ye want?" Killigan attempted to eye her squarely.

"You mentioned a name earlier. You said it when you were swinging your clubs at me?"

"Kim Possible?" Duff asked as he felt the blood rushing to his head.

"She wouldn't be a red head by chance? Jumps around. Killer moves."

"Oh aye. Tha' be the lassie." Killigan relayed regretfully.

"She has a boyfriend. Tell me about him."

"What? Ya mean da buffoon?"

Squirrel Girl's eyes narrowed intently "What buffoon?"

--

A soft moan escaped Ron Stoppable's lips as he slowly was welcomed back to the waking world by an intense throbbing in his head. Wincing as he rubbed it, he slowly sat up, looking around.

No Squirrel Girl. No surprise there. No WWEE goons either. That was a surprise. KP must have chased them off.

Kim.

The thought brought Ron quickly to his feet. He looked up and down, with no sight of her. Deciding he had the privacy for it, he quickly removed his suit, revealing his normal clothes beneath.

Rushing out to the street, he looked around to see nothing. Not Kim, not Gemini, and not Squirrel Girl either. He wasn't sure whether or not to count that among his blessings as he quickly made his way one block over to where he'd left his bike.

Hoping on, only one thought pushed him on as he made his way home; finding her, talking to her, apologizing to her, groveling before her, holding her again… ok several thoughts. And not all in sequential order.

But he could see her again. He slipped past several red lights, driven by this thought. It felt like an eternity before the familiar sights of Middleton greeted him. He brought his bike directly into his drive way, leaving it in the garage.

He ran straight for the front door, almost running into his own parents as they came out at that exact instant.

"Ronald!" Ron looked up at the sight of his father and mother.

"Sweet heart, are you ok?"

"Yeah mom. Dad. You guys leaving?"

"Yes we are. A quick lunch with some clients uptown." Ron's father smiled with pride. "By the way, I really appreciate your friend coming over to help out with Hana for a few hours."

"Yeah my… wait what?"

"Sarah." Ron's mother explained. "I gave her all the important phone numbers, but I guess now that you're here, that shouldn't be too much of an issue. Anyway, make sure Hana gets her nap in. And see you later tonight."

Ron didn't so much as wave bye as his parents made it down towards their car. Piling in, they waved to Ron as they drove off.

Ron simply waved back for a second before walking inside. Sitting on the couch in his living room, holding his baby sister in her hands, a tall brunette in jeans and a light blue tank top with long flowing brown hair sat on the couch.

"Hey there." Sarah Currage smiled as she continued to bounce Hana up and down on her knees. "We've been waiting for you."


	7. Showing The Ropes

Author's Note: Hey again everyone! It took a little longer than I'm entirely proud of but here it is, the next chapter of Hero's Legacy.

Write a review, get a response.

--

The word 'awkward' didn't quite do it justice. Granted it was close, but standing ten feet away from a young woman who he only barely knew and had so far tried to kick his butt repeatedly, and who was now cradling his baby sister… yeah, 'awkward' just didn't seem the right word for it.

"Hey there." Sarah replied eagerly as she continued to hold Hana, holding the little baby's favorite stuffed mole rat in front of her, all while never taking her eyes off Ron.

"Hey." Ron tried his best to play it off. This was not how he'd planned the rest of his afternoon, but that no longer seemed the point. She was here. Now. Best to just get this out of the way. "Are you two ladies having a good time together?" Ron asked with a smile as he took a seat opposite of the pair.

"Yeah. Me and Hana are just loving hanging out." Sarah picked up Hana in her pink fuzzy pajamas, shaking her just enough to earn a hearty laugh from the tiny baby. "You know it's funny, I don't see the resemblance."

"Well what can I say?" Ron just smiled as he shrugged. "She got all the looks."

This earned Ron a quick chuckle from Sarah, which he silently admitted he was more than a little proud of.

"You know, you must be good with kids." Ron admired. Whatever else could be said about Sarah, it was obvious from the way Hana was giggling that she liked her. "Little Hana here has chased more than her fair share of babysitters from this house."

"Oh, good for you Hana." Sarah obviously wasn't convinced, but she decided to play along to Hana's amusement. "What about? You're not scared?" Sarah asked as she bounced the tiny toddler on her knee, tickling it with her forefinger, her tone indicating a change in the topic of conversation. "Not even that I'm holding your baby sister?"

Ron just smiled as he dismissed the notion. "Not really. If you were the type to hurt little kids, I figure you wouldn't be running around picking fights with full grown men and super villains." At this, Ron chuckled before deciding "Besides, you're more afraid of my sister than she is of you."

For a second, Sarah merely frowned in confusion. "Uh, don't you mean that the other way around?"

Ron simply sighed as he looked down at Hana. "Come on Hana. It's Flippy Time."

At this, Hana let out an enthusiastic cry as she stood up on Sarah's knee and, right before the astonished brunette, double flipping through the air, only to be caught in the arms of her big brother who just smiled.

"Hmm, she usually gets more height than that." Ron leaned in to his sister's face, pulling her closer. "You're tired, aren't you my little intruder? It's past your nap time." At this, Ron pulled Hana over his shoulder, allowing her tiny head to rest even as he turned to Sarah. "Excuse us, I'll be right back."

Ron walked right out of the room, leaving Sarah on the couch, staring back wide eyed with disbelief.

Had that really just happened? Had she really just allowed that to happen? Her arch nemesis walked right out to put his baby sister to sleep, and left her all alone. In his own house?

Sarah looked around, unsure of herself and her surroundings. What was she supposed to do now? Wreck the place? It really didn't seem right… Should she just leave before he returned? In a way, that kind of made sense, but then what would have been the point of coming over here in the first place? For that matter, what was the point of coming here in the first place?

Where else did she have to go?

Sarah's inner debate raged on even as Ron walked casually back into the room a few minutes later. Coming down the stairs, he caused Sarah to tense as she readied herself for a showdown of some kind.

"So," she started, trying her best to appear in control of the situation. "It's just you and me-"

"I'm hungry. I was going to make myself a sandwich; you want one?" Ron asked care freely as he walked right past her towards the kitchen, exposing his bare backside to her without a second's hesitation.

"Huh?" Sarah felt herself fall flat on her face as she remained standing. A loud grumble echoed from her stomach, one which she hoped he hadn't noticed as she decided aloud "Uh, yeah. Sure. Thanks."

"What would you like?" Ron didn't miss a beat as he began pulling out items from the refrigerator. "I was going to make myself a ham and cheese, but we got peanut butter and jelly if you're in the mood for a classic. Or bologna."

"Uh, bologna is fine." Sarah cautiously approached the kitchen counter, sitting down, mysteriously captivated as Ron worked.

"Mayo or no mayo?"

"Uhmm, mayo?" Sarah really guessed at the answer. Yet Ron either didn't notice or wasn't bothered by her hesitation as he quickly worked to serve her first. Finishing the sandwich, he placed the plate before her. "So, how did you find where I live anyway?"

Sarah found herself staring directly into his eyes as Ron looked at her, almost expectantly, with that same goofy smile. "Uh, phone book. You're listed." For a second, she tried to remember her manners in case she had unknowingly committed a social faux pas, unable to fathom why that would matter to her now. Finally, no longer able to bare the tension, she bit into her food.

Her eyes widened almost instantly and she couldn't help but to moan in contentment at the first bite. She looked down in a delighted shock, first at her food and then back at Ron.

"I'm guessing it's good." Ron asked even as Sarah attacked her sandwich with ravenous fury. "Yeah, I like to add a few seasonings here and there, you know to kinda spice it up a bit." Sarah didn't answer; she just began savagely devouring her food as Ron continued to watch her. "I'm going to guess you'll want another."

Ron quickly turned back to the kitchen counter and prepared a second. By the time he had completed it and set it down on Sarah's plate, she was already well finished with her first.

Sarah looked back down at the new sandwich with glee, until a small horror crept across her face. She looked down at the food and then back up at Ron in terror as she declared in a horrified whisper "its poison."

"Hey!" Ron bit back. "I know everyone's a critic, but I'll thank you not to refer to my cooking that way."

"Well then it's drugged." Sarah nearly leapt off her stool, backing away from the kitchen counter in fear. "You're trying to trick me."

"Oh, I've already tricked you." Ron declared in mock triumph. "You ate the whole sandwich. Now you can't fight for at least a whole hour after eating or you'll cramp." At this, his voice dropped back down to his usual, casual self as he said "So, you might as well finish the one you got."

Sarah didn't know what to think as Ron turned back to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of juice. Retrieving two glasses, he proceeded to fill them both, placing one alongside Sarah's plate and uneaten sandwich.

"Thirsty?"

Sarah hadn't even noticed, but to dwell on the matter, yes. She was parched. She took a second before moving back to her seat and downing the entire glass in a single gulp. Ron seemed satisfied by this and refilled her glass as soon as she was done.

Ron then turned to his own food, quickly throwing something together before placing his plate before her. The two ate in silence for several seconds before Ron decided to fill in the quiet with some conversation.

"So, you a big Fearless Ferret fan?"

Sarah paused in her eating, taking enough time to swallow the bite in her mouth before answering "Not really. Maybe that sounds weird considering what I do in my free time but I didn't think it was really that great a show."

"It's not for everyone." Ron admitted as he ate.

Sarah never knew why, but she continued with the conversation on her own as she confessed "The only episodes I really watched were the ones with Squirrel Girl. I thought they were cool."

"I bet. It must have been cool watching your mom in action." Ron took a sip of his juice before adding "It's pretty awesome when someone so amazing cares so much about you, isn't it?"

Sarah just smiled. "Yeah, I…" and at this, her eyes went wide and her face pale as she looked at Ron.

"I spoke with your mom." Ron explained sincerely. "She's worried about you."

Sarah backed away from the counter, aghast. "You talked to my mom!" She declared, utterly astonished and horrified as she reiterated "Behind my back, you went and talked to my mother!"

"You talked to mine." Ron replied simply. "And my dad, and my sister."

"And so what," Sarah asked defensively, her hips at her side. "Now you think you got me all figured out?"

"Nah. Not really." Ron leaned away from his food for a moment. "You know, actually, there's a lot about you I don't get."

"Such as?"

"Well for starters, I mean, what's your motivation?" Ron spoke as if he were merely directing his question to an actor discussing his character for a TV plot. "I mean, you got teased as a kid, and now you're ready to raise hell? Just like that?"

"Hey, I don't freaking care what you think!" Sarah shot at Ron with a venomous glare. "And since you ask, yeah, just like that. Where I'm from, the rule is step or be stepped on."

"Oh please." Ron replied, obviously. "That's where everyone's from. It's called 'high school.'"

Sarah just sighed, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms. "It's nothing a pretty boy like you would understand." She leaned in on the counter, bringing her deep blue eyes close to his, staring him down as she said in a deeper voice "I had to learn my lessons, I've paid my dues, getting dirt kicked in my face every day, and now I'm done with it. I'm just taking back what I'm owed; not that you'd know anything about that-"

"I turned my old tricycle into a plasma catapult, crashed my cousin's wedding, and tried to destroy the earth." Ron counted off.

Sarah was left speechless. At first, she expected him to merely smirk and announce 'Ha, gotcha.' Only he never did. His face seemed deadest, though somewhat… relaxed on the subject. "Really?"

"Oh yeah." Ron relayed. "I was about as bad as they come."

Sarah kept expecting the hidden camera crews to come out and declare her to be the hugest sucker ever and victim of the oldest practical joke in the world, but she went ahead anyway and asked "So, what happened?"

"I had someone." Ron swallowed the last of his food, pausing a bit before he continued. "Someone who cared about me and never gave up on me no matter how bad I got. She pulled me through."

She looked at him for a second, waiting for him to erupt in laughter. Only he never did. He just proceeded to finish his drink. As he did, she finally gave in and sat back down in front of him.

Suddenly, inspiration flashed in Ron's excited eyes as Sarah's words echoed in his ears. "Hey, you think I'm pretty!"

"What?" Sarah squeaked, off guard.

"You do. You totally think I'm pretty. You just called me a pretty boy." Ron reminded in a triumphant tone that caused Sarah to blush uncontrollably, exciting Ron all the more.

"Ok this was fun thanks for lunch I'm outta here." Sarah got up to leave, causing Ron to chase after her across the kitchen.

"Ok, ok, my bad. I got off topic." Ron apologized. "I do that. Tell you what; let me make it up to you."

"How?"

"By showing you the ropes." Ron explained simply. "You want to be a super villain; you could use a few pointers."

"Seriously?" Sarah had already sworn that this whole business could not get more unreal. Being constantly wrong about the matter was proving to be most annoying.

"Hey, 'never be normal.' That's my motto." Ron declared with a smile. "So, if being a super villain is really what rings your bell, let's make sure you get it right."

--

Betty Director took a long look around the remnants of the wrecked one person room. The sound of broken glass being stepped on as her agents continued to analyze every square inch of the room filled in the silence as she let out in a soft voice. "Looks like my place after a card game."

"Didn't figure you for a card shark ma'am."

Dr. Director smirked at the comment from the passing agent. It may not have been entirely regulation, but she decided to let it pass. "We all have to pay for school somehow. Thing is, my place never looked this bad unless the beer ran out."

"WWEE sure knows how to throw a party." The agent replied again.

"WWEE and Duff Kiligan, as well as anyone else who might still be in town. We need to find this 'Squirrel Girl' and fast."

"Ma'am." Another agent approached from off to the side, holding up an evidence bag with a single strand of hair sealed within. "Got a hair. Looks brunette."

"Same as our Squirrel lady." Dr. Director observed before eyeing the agent squarely. "Get it to DNA. I want to know who was here and what they know."

"Yes Ma'am."

--

"Well?" The voice of an impatient Gemini asked over the headset of the GJ agent as he walked down the stairs, towards the outside.

"I may have something for you sir." The faux GJ agent smiled as he re-examined the bag under the light of day. "Give me an hour."

--

"Ron Stoppable!" The elder voice exclaimed. Senor Senior Sr. crossed his spacious, elegantly adorned living room to greet the blonde sidekick and his new, brown haired female friend. Were Senor Senior Sr. in the habit of judging the body language of his guests, he might have observed her to be standing a little closer to Ron than was entirely necessary for two mere friends. "How delightful to see you again. And who is this most charming young lady?"

Ron just smiled at the senior billionaire approaching him. "Senor Senior Senior, this is Sarah." Ron indicated to Sarah, and then back. "Sarah, meet Senor Senior Senior."

"Charmed." The elder gentleman spoke as he took her hand, leaning in.

"How's it going?" Sarah asked somewhat distantly, a little unnerved. She was still trying to reconcile how she had just flown here in a sub-sonic jet and parachuted down (which was a whole new kind of rush) to an island mansion below in the middle of nowhere. The whole experience seemed like something out of a cheesy spy movie or a bad cartoon.

"So, what brings you both to my humble home?" Senor Sr. asked eagerly. "Have you come to do battle? My Spinning Tops of Doom have just had their treads redone, and my vicious piranhas have not been fed in a day and are most eager for the taste of fresh meat!"

Sarah eyes shot wide in disbelief. She was now, officially, crept out. But Ron let the questioning slide right off him as he shrugged, smiling "Nah. We're not here on business. I was actually wondering if you could do me a favor."

"A favor?" Senor Senior Sr. seemed somewhat pleasantly surprised by the notion. "I am intrigued. Do go on."

"Well, Sarah here" Ron motioned to the young lady next to him "has been looking into a career in villainy, and I thought that, as one of the best out there" Ron motioned back to Senior Sr. "that you could maybe give her a few pointers."

Senor Senior Sr. practically beamed with pride as he pretended to retain his humility "Oh, I am far too modest. I would be most delighted to teach this young lady in the arts of evil."

Sarah was sure this was a dream. Or maybe a trip. She didn't remember taking anything. But that was all it could be. There was no way this could actually be happening. She tried to reassure herself of that even as the older man came up to her, taking her by the arm and guiding her across the room, with Ron following her. She looked back at him, trying not to let her worry show too much. She must have failed as Ron, apparently sensing her discomfort, gave her a reassuring smile. Somehow, this seemed to settle her.

"I must say, I am most eager to have finally found a protégée in villainy. My son has been most lax in his villainous studies ever since he began dating your Ms. Rockwaller Ronald."

"Really?" Ron asked, still following the pair in front of him. "I thought for sure she'd be great at bringing out the worst in him."

Sarah looked back shocked, trying to scold him with her silent features much as Kim had done many times in the past.

"Ah-ha." Senior seemed to merely laugh at the comment. "You are most kind to say so Ron Stoppable." This drew another astonished look from Sarah. "Now, young lady, the first thing we must practice is your laugh."

"My laugh?"

"Oh yes." Senor Senior insisted enthusiastically. "Perhaps the most telling feature of any true villain is the depth and power of their sinister, villainous laugh. It is your laugh that expresses your power and drives fear into the hearts of your enemies. Let me demonstrate."

Senor Senior Sr. threw his head up slightly into the air as he let out a soft, bellowing laugh. The laugh succeeded in drawing goose bumps across her arm.

"Or this." Ron Stoppable took a deep breath before throwing his head and arms into the air. A deep, bellowing "Booyahahahahahaha!" echoed throughout the entire Senior home, drawing astonished looks from both Sarah and Senor Senior alike as a chill seemed to emanate from Ron's very being. The two starred wide eyed at Ron as he came back down.

"Whoa." Sarah looked at him, more than a little frightened. "That… that was…"

"Most impressive." Senior replied in the same star struck tone.

"I've had practice." Ron just shrugged.

--

The sound of anxious fists pounding against her front door brought Mrs. Stoppable hurrying to answer. She let out a pleased smile as she saw who it was. "Kimmie! How are you dear?"

"Is Ron here?" Kim panted desperately. She normally tried to be much more polite, but of late, she didn't feel as if she had the time for such luxuries.

"Why no. I thought for sure they were going to meet you." Mrs. Stoppable replied simply, confused by the obvious fatigue written into every syllable of Kim's body language.

"They?" Kim asked.

"Ron and Sarah." Mrs. Stoppable replied, failing to notice the look of worried surprise in Kim. "They stayed with Hana while Ron's father and I went to lunch, and when we got back, they took off."

"Oh." Kim tried to hide her growing concern behind a pleasant smile as she lied "No prob. I bet I know where they are. I'll just have to catch up."

--

"And over here, I keep my own gigantic, mutant wiener dogs." Senor Senior Sr. continued on as he gave his tour to his most captive audience. "Normally, I would not bother with such obviously high maintenance pets but Dr. Dementor has assured me that they are well worth the effort."

Sarah was simply blown away by it all. By all outward appearances, this elder man had been every bit as harmless and polite as her own grandfather. Except that unlike her grandfather, his home housed an arsenal capable of conquering most small nations.

"Do you actually use all this stuff?" Somehow, Sarah knew she didn't want to know the real answer, but she couldn't help herself.

"Unfortunately no." Senor Sr. seemed to sigh. "I like to keep them, as you say, for a rainy day."

"Well, we should probably get going; we've already taken up a lot of your time." Ron interjected cheerfully as he walked up, shaking Sr.'s hand. "Thanks for the tour, looking forward to your next scheme."

"Must you leave so soon?" Senor Senior Sr. seemed somewhat disappointed. "I was hoping you could help me feed my alligators."

"Yeah, we'd love to," Ron's smile didn't flinch, and he was very grateful for it "but we got a schedule to keep."

"We do?"

"Yes!" Ron turned back to face Sarah, silently expressing that it was to their mutual benefit to hurry on their way. "Yes we do, we need to see about some new clothes for you."

"Oh." Sarah was still every bit as confused and in the dark as she had been when this whole ordeal had begun, though she had to admit, she was looking forward to the hell she could raise with even half of the Senor Senior Sr.'s toys someday in the distant future. "Ok."

The two walked through the large island mansion and out the front door.

"So where are we headed next?" Sarah asked cautiously.

"I told you, we're going to get you a new outfit. Even villains got to be fashion forward."

--

When she had seen that their next destination was a maximum security prison, Sarah's first reaction had been to panic. When Ron had told the guard that they were here to visit someone called the 'Fashionestas', she only relaxed slightly.

Her heart constricted all the worse as the guards escorted her and Ron past the general prison population and out into the main courtyard. Sarah tried not to let the passing glares that she earned scare her too much, and if she had been a betting girl, she would have put down money that this was part of some psychological game or plan from Ron to get to her and scare her straight.

What she didn't want to admit was that it was working. It was working really well! Still, she tried to remember her tough persona as she was led through the courtyard. The guard had assured them both that this was the scheduled recreation time for the non-violent offenders only, and there were no less than ten trained sharp shooters in case anything happened.

Ron led her straight to a bench in the middle of the courtyard where three figures sat, watching impassively as the duo approached them. Each one of the Fashionestas had altered their prison issue jumpsuits to best match their original trend-setting styles.

"Hey guys." Ron waved cheerfully, causing Sarah to wonder whether or not he ever stopped with that infectious smile of his. "How's hard time treating you?"

"Horrible." One of the Fashionestas replied. "The color orange will be forever engrained in my nightmares, right next to flannel."

"Oiy, my kingdom for colors!" Another moaned. "On and on it goes."

"Yeah, tough times all around." Ron pretended to lament with them before gesturing to the young lady next to him. "So listen, this is Sarah, and she needs a new outfit, and I was thinking, who better than the frat of fashion, the trio of Trim themselves." Ron went on in his most flattering tone.

"Really?"

"A challenge!" The second exclaimed.

"Oh goodness, anything to work with something other than prisoner jumpsuits."

The trio turned on Sarah, surrounding her as they cast their critical eyes over every square inch of her. She looked worriedly at Ron, who merely nodded assuringly at her.

"Oh, the pain."

"The agony."

"The misery."

"What?" Sarah eyed them as they circled around her.

"It's written all over you honey." One of them replied with a tone of superiority that was rapidly getting on Sarah's nerves. "These clothes, your body, they're speaking to us, even over these rags."

"'Pity me, pity me.'" Another went on, drawing a furious look from Sarah, who was ready to snap.

"Oh, just dive into something black and bleach your hair, so that you can just get it over with." The third went on.

"Ok!" Ron interjected, stepping between the Fashionestas and Sarah before a prison brawl broke out. "So, what do you guys think?"

"Hopeless." The first replied.

"Almost hopeless." The second responded.

"What's our theme?" The third asked.

"Think squirrel." Ron replied.

The three looked at one another. They then went back to their bench and began drawing something on a basketball that lay nearby. Sarah looked questioningly at Ron who could only shrug as the pair looked back.

When the Fashionestas were done, they looked up, bursting with pride at themselves.

"Beautiful."

"Magnificent."

"Oh, I feel light."

The first of the trio tossed the ball at Ron who caught it in his hands, holding it down for his own and Sarah's inspection.

"Whoa." Ron admired in awe.

"Far out." Sarah agreed, impressed.

"Now, there's just the matter of our commission." The biggest of the Fashionestas' insisted as he walked up, grabbing the ball from Ron's hands, before moving back to the bench alongside his comrades, spinning the ball perfectly balanced atop his forefinger.

"What do you want?"

"Freedom." The first replied obviously. "You get us out of here, and we let you have the ball."

Sarah looked away, her lips biting in frustration as Ron stammered. "Uh, maybe we could come to some kind of compromise?"

"No." The third said plainly. "Either you get us out of here, or no deal."

There was an awkward silence as Ron seemed to look back at Sarah apologetically.

"Fine." Sarah just shrugged, reading Ron's face. There was no way the Fashionestas were getting out of prison. "No big."

Sarah lunged, her feet had left the ground before anyone had registered that she'd moved. Leaping faster than either the Fashionestas or Ron could appreciate, she flipped through the air, grabbing the ball from the Fashionestas' hand in mid flip and landing flawlessly with a precision and grace that Ron had only seen from a select few women in his life.

"Hey, give that back!" The second cried.

"Think fast." Sarah shot a cocky glance as she tossed it quickly to Ron, who caught it.

"Give that back!" The first cried again as the Fashionestas remained where they were, paralyzed with indignity and outrage.

"Ok." Ron just shrugged as he tossed it back to Sarah who leapt up to catch up, flipping over the enraged Fashionestas again and landing back alongside Ron.

"Not to her!"

"Whoops. My bad, sorry." Ron apologized.

"Sweet suit." Sarah smirked as she eyed the design on the basketball in her hand. "Really. Appreciate it."

"You can't do this." The outraged and offended Fashionestas insisted. "You're the good guys!"

"Technically, I'm the good guy." Ron indicated to himself, then to Sarah "The girl who took your basketball is a bad guy…girl." He corrected himself.

"Later." Sarah gave a satisfied smile as she twirled the ball atop her forefinger.

"We'll put in a good word for you guys at your next review in ten years." Ron waved back.

The two walked out of the courtyard, leaving the Fashionestas alone in a state of shock.


	8. Trial By Fire

Sarah sat uncomfortably in her seat. Still in her civilian clothing, she couldn't shake this feeling of…exposure. She felt so vulnerable out in the open. "So, what did you say this place is called again?"

"Bueno Nacho." Ron answered proudly as he returned to their booth with their orders atop a tray. "Home of the heavenly Naco, food of champions and or gods."

As the tray was set down, the heavenly aroma wafting off into the air caused a pair of nostrils to rise and sniff. Slowly but surely, those same nostrils rose at a steady pace out of their resting place within Ron's pocket, popping up atop a small pink head and jumping onto the table "Ho boy. Food!" Rufus exclaimed eagerly.

"What the…?" Sarah watched as the tiny naked mole rat before her leapt at the wrapped goods in front of him before pausing at the sight of her.

"Kim?" Rufus turned, asking to Ron.

"Oh no, Kim couldn't be here right now little buddy. This is Sarah." Ron explained politely as he indicated to the brunette before him.

"Uh, hi!" Sarah simply waved somewhat uneasily.

Rufus looked at Sarah's waved hand before sniffing it, curiously. "Squirrel!" He cried out, warningly.

"Yeah I know. It's cool." Ron wasn't the least bit fazed by Rufus' frantic warning. "She needs our help." This earned a distrusting scowl from Ron's tiniest friend as he held up his hands insistently "Honestly. We're just showing her the ropes."

Rufus' face fell back to its normal straight forward manner as he looked back up at Sarah.

"It's cool little dude. I'm just here for lunch." She insisted.

Rufus eyed Sarah a second longer before giving her a tiny thumbs up. "Cool." And with that, Rufus didn't waste another second, diving headlong into the assortment of wrapped imitation Mexican delicacies before him.

"Whoa. Little dude has an appetite." Sarah let out, clearly impressed by the fast food carnage before her.

"Oh yeah." Ron smiled proudly as he began packing away his first Naco of the afternoon. "Little buddy and I have put back our share of cheese in the past."

"You know, I could swear I saw you eating lunch not two hours ago."

Ron slurped up some cheese trying to escape down the side of his cheek as he looked up from his gorging. "Yeah. So?"

"Never mind." Sarah dismissed as Ron returned to his feasting. She couldn't help but cast another disbelieving glance at the young man before her, her eyes lingering just a little longer over the way his smooth blonde hair hung from the sides of his face and the way his freckles seemed to beckon attention to his features. There was no doubt in Sarah's mind, Ron was weird. But a good weird.

Letting the matter pass, she looked down at the palate before her. Deciding there was no sense in letting good food go to waste, of which there seemed very little chance of that happening with the Fearless Ferret and Wonder Weasel on the job, she quickly snatched up a Naco. Licking her lips eagerly, she took her first bite ever.

Her eyes went wide and she unconsciously hummed with delight at the bite. "Whoa. This is seriously wicked."

"Thanks." Ron smiled. "I invented it you know."

Sarah just giggled as she bit in, speaking over several strands of cheese hanging between her lips and the Naco in hand "Yeah, right."

"Seriously." Ron assured in a relaxed, deadest face.

Sarah took the time to swallow her food before looking back at him. "No way."

"Uh-huh!" Rufus popped up with a mouthful of Naco, taking only enough time to nod in acknowledgement before diving back into the mountain of wrappings and food.

Sarah looked back at Ron who seemed to regard her with a patient look of triumph.

"Whoa. You're just full of surprises." Sarah was speechless. She expected Ron to critique her for ever doubting his word in the first place, but instead he just let the matter slide right off him as he went back to eating. She didn't know how to describe it but she suddenly became aware that Ron's was a face that would never lie to her. Never judge her. He seemed to accept everything and everyone around him with such childhood delight. Such charm.

"If you think that's surprising, wait 'till you see where we are going next."

--

"So, who is this Dr. Darken again?"

"Drakken." Ron corrected as the two crept through his latest stone castle lair. "He's one of our oldest bad guys. Thing is, he's pretty experienced at the whole evil planning. He's tried just about everything out there."

"So how does this help me?" Sarah asked, still getting over the rush of approaching this castle lair via speedboat only to scale the narrow cliff side. She had to admit, this globe trotting was a kick and a half and one that she was greatly looking forward to as part of her new evil life.

"Simple." Ron explained as he continued to lead the two through the narrow stone corridors, trying his best to recall the proper pathway to Drakken's main chamber. "If you're going to be a super villain, then you've got to have a plan."

"A plan?" Sarah looked at him skeptically.

"Yeah. You know; a goal, some long time final thing that you want. Like for instance, what do you want out of being a villain?"

"Violence!" Sarah slapped her hands together eagerly.

Ron looked back at her, eyeing her a bit uneasily. "Oo-kay." Ron felt himself pull at his collar nervously. "Well, we'll just put that under short term goals. I'm talking long term. Think big."

Sarah paused for a moment to consider. "I don't know."

"Yeah, see that's why you've got to have a plan." Ron explained as he continued walking forward while looking back at her. "Like for instance, Drakken here is out for world domination. So, a lot of his plans are pretty big. He's actually pretty good at coming up with them. He tries something new like every other week, so I'm thinking you could probably learn a lot about putting together a solid plan from him."

"Oh." Sarah said in understanding. "Ok."

"Yeah. Now keep an eye out. Drakken's actually smarter than he looks" Ron paused at his own statement before adding "some of the time. So you've got to keep your eyes open for anything weird."

"Like that?"

"Like what-" Ron walked headlong into something large and heavy, falling over flat on his back side before having a chance to see what it was.

Sarah rushed up to where he fell as he rubbed his head absently. Looking up, the two saw what appeared to be an enormous, seventy foot tall plaster representation of a cartoonish badger painted over in a rainbow theme of colors that ran up and down the entire length of its frame.

"That's pretty weird, right?" Sarah asked in utter disbelief. "Is this part of some plan of his?"

"That's… that's, I-I don't know… what that is. I-I can't…" Ron stuttered at the sight. "I-I don't know. I give up on this job sometimes."

Cutting all speculation between the pair short, an enormous, single metal shackle seemed to descend from out of nowhere. Clamping down around Sarah and Ron at once, it bound the pair back to back as it hoisted them up high into the air.

"Well, well." An all too sinister voice echoed throughout the lair as a tall yet somewhat meek looking blue skinned figure entered into the room. "It's amazing the rodents you catch if you just lay out the proper traps."

"Is that Darken?" Sarah guessed at the strange mad in the blue lab coat entering.

"Drakken." Ron corrected. "Yeah, that's him." At this, Ron looked down to his pants pocket. "Psst, hey Rufus."

Upon command, a tiny pink head popped out of its rightful resting place within the world.

"Time for escape plan: twenty seven buddy."

At this Rufus gave a smile and proud salute before scampering up the side of the coil that held both Sarah and Ron. As Sarah looked down, she guessed that Dorken hadn't noticed.

"Hey there Drakken." Ron smiled. "So, I see you've settled into the new lair nicely. You know, that was some pretty impressive villain banter back there, did you rehearse it?"

"Argh! It's you." Drakken exclaimed in delighted surprise, pointing at Ron. "You're Kim Possible's meddling sidekick."

"Partner!" Ron corrected defensively.

"And I see you've found yet another annoying teenager to come and foil my latest scheme." Drakken declared angrily as he indicated to Sarah.

"Oh no." Ron insisted unabashedly. "This is Sarah. She's just here to learn."

"Uh," Sarah hissed at Ron "is it really wise to tell him my name?"

"Don't worry." Ron replied dismissively. "He never remembers anyone's name anyway."

"Grr." Drakken was rapidly becoming frustrated with the lack of proper respect his captured teenaged foes were showing him. Reaching into his coat pocket, he produced a small black object within his hands. Pressing a specific button along its side, he held the device up to his mouth as he spoke aloud "Memo to self: plan victory party for destruction of Kim Possible's annoying sidekick." Drakken clicked off the device before pausing for a moment to ponder. Reconsidering, he held the device back to his hand before adding "Cake should be served."

Sarah and Ron both looked at each other for a quick moment before Ron asked the question on both their minds. "Dude, what was that?"

"Oh this?" Drakken replied eagerly as he indicated to the small device in his hand. "This is what will finally help me crush Kim Possible once and for all." Gathering eagerness and enthusiasm Drakken declared loudly and proudly "This is my Memo Recorder of Doom!"

Ron and Sarah's faces fell in synchronous disbelief as Ron pointed out "That's just a tape recorder."

"What?" Drakken replied uneasily, as if all the air had been let out of him.

"That's not a tape recorder 'of doom.'" Ron emphasized. "That's just a tape recorder."

"Yes." Drakken sneered at the mouthy sidekick. "A tape recorder which shall capture every word, every utterance of my brilliance, not only for posterity, but so that when I finally conjure up the perfect plan to defeat Kim Possible, I shall actually remember what it was!"

Sarah tried to direct her face back to Ron. "I thought you said he was good at this whole planning thing?"

"No, no." Ron corrected. "I said he does a lot of it. I never said he was that good at it. A while back, Dr. Drakken here actually had to resort to note cards in order to keep up with his own plans."

Sarah looked back at him in disbelief before deciding aloud with grim acceptance "I guess that explains the enormous rainbow spray painted badger in his headquarters."

Drakken just grumbled at the very sight of the enormous cardboard animal before begrudgingly admitting "I mixed up some of the note cards." There was a short uncomfortable silence before he barked at the two teenagers he imagined to be staring at him questioningly "Don't ask!"

"Don't tell." They both pleaded dryly.

"So," Ron went on, eager to change the subject of conversation "Where's Shego?"

This prompted another growl of annoyance from Drakken as the mad scientist. "On vacation." At this, Drakken pulled up his tape recorder "Memo for later: Lodge complaint against League of Villainous Evil's union for unfair vacation demands."

"Wait a second." Sarah interjected. "The villains of the world went union?"

"Three years ago." Ron answered back.

"They're tough negotiators too." Drakken grumbled bitterly at the memory.

"Yeah, but you're a super villain." Sarah stated the obvious. "I mean, if they start getting lippy, can't you just bring a death ray and shoot them?"

"Hey, I don't…" At this, Drakken paused before speaking into his recorder "Addendum to previous memo: Bring death ray along for negotiations."

Sarah just shook her head in disbelief as she looked back at Ron. "Is this Draygon guy seriously you're arch enemy?"

"That's Drakken!" The mad scientists bit back in rage.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Sarah paused before adding loud enough for him to hear "Dorken!"

"Drakken!"

"Ha, see! See." Ron jumped in accusingly at Drakken. "Not so fun when someone can't remember your name, is it?"

"You stay out of this…" Drakken pointed uneasily at the blonde sidekick still dangling in front of him "…you…you. You know who you are!"

"You know my name!" Ron bit back. "I know you do."

"Ok, that's it." Sarah had managed to stomach enough weirdness to last her a lifetime. "Hey little dude, how about that escape plan?"

"Little what?" Drakken's voice fell away as he looked over to where Sarah's question had been directed. Sure enough, Team Possible's annoying pink rodent was standing over the control console that directed the large manacle holding his teenage foes captive. With the press of the right button, the manacle opened up, dropping both Ron and Sarah down to the ground before him.

"Yep. Good ol' escape plan: thirty two." Ron brushed himself off proudly. "Works every time."

"I thought that was escape plan: twenty seven?" Sarah asked.

Ron just shrugged as he admitted "Actually, plans seventeen through forty two pretty much all go like that."

"NO!" Drakken cried out at the sight of the newly escaped teenagers. "No, it's not fair. I swear to you Kim Possible's sidekick, one day, I will have my revenge. Yes, I can see it now. I'll find a way to go back in time and defeat you in the past. Maybe I'll try finding that Time Monkey that Monkey Fist went on about once. I'll use my knowledge of the future to invest heavily in the dotcom surge and then bail out before my balloon bursts. I will then use my new fortune to develop new mind control technologies and then, to make sure you and Kim Possible never foil me, I'll arrange for the two of you to be separated. Maybe I'll give your mother a job in another town somewhere! That way, the two of you will never again foil my schemes and I will finally take over the world! Ahahahaha!"

There was another long pause as Sarah and Ron looked wide eyed at Drakken in mutual astonishment.

"Wow." Ron admitted, still wide eyed. "You know, that might actually work."

"Yeah. That was a pretty solid plan." Sarah agreed in mutual surprise. "I can see why you're the expert at this planning thing."

"Why yes." Drakken replied proudly. "I do pride myself on effort."

"Ok, well we gotta go." Ron just waved as he took Sarah by the arm, pulling her off as he called back to Drakken "Good luck with that plan."

"Yes, I… wait a minute." Drakken paused. "How did it go again? Oh no, I forgot to record it!" Drakken exclaimed, shaking his recorder angrily as if it were somehow directly responsible for his failure even as he called out to the pair "Wait! What was my plan again?"

"I think it involved monkeys." Ron answered back, never once breaking his pace.

"And something about mind control" Sarah joined in the fun.

"Yes. Yes of course." At this, Drakken pulled his tape recorder back up to his lips. "New Plan: Mind control the monkeys." Drakken shut off the tape recorder after hearing his own words. "That wasn't right."

--

Karen Currage took another moment to scoop up her keys and purse as she headed for the door. For the last four days, she had called off of work, waiting for some news of Sarah. The office had been happy to give her the time off requested, but after so many days sitting around the house, waiting for the phone to ring, for a knock on the door, she was losing her mind.

She needed to get out. Needed to focus her mind on something else. She wanted more than anything to go out looking for Sarah, but she didn't have the first clue where to start. She'd already called practically every mother at Sarah's school in case Sarah tried to crash at one of her friend's houses. A wasted effort though; as Karen was all too painfully aware, Sarah didn't really have any friends. She'd filed a report with the police, but she knew that was probably an even greater waste of time. It was pretty much an unwritten law that a runaway teenager was at the bottom of the priority list for the cops.

She was desperate for some kind of distraction, some sort of escape from the worry. She knew the work day was almost over by now anyway, but she could at least stop in. Maybe play catch up at the office. Something for the next hour.

She had almost made it to the door when a loud knock stopped her. A spark of hope ignited as she rushed to answer, only to dim as she saw that it wasn't her daughter at her front door. Instead, a short man with one eye covered by a patch, dressed in a strange uniform with some kind of metal glove over one hand waited patiently.

"Ms. Currage?" The man seemed to restrain his eagerness.

"Yes?" She felt an unease that she couldn't explain build up within her.

"Ms. Currage, is your daughter at home?"

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Karen questioned skeptically.

"My name is Gemini." The man indicated to himself with his metallic hand. "I'm afraid your daughter is in trouble, Ms. Currage. A great deal of trouble."

--

The sun was still shinning bright and high over the Middleton Park as Sarah and Ron walked along its path. Children ran back and forth, some watched over by their parents, others playing together in groups. All in all, not at all what Sarah had expected of the next step in her 'training.'

"What are we doing here?" Sarah asked skeptically.

"Field test." Ron exclaimed. "It's time for your trial run."

"Didn't I already go through that when I robbed a jewelry store?" Sarah asked. "Or when I crashed a whole convention of super villains?"

"You got to learn to walk before you run." Ron answered back cryptically. "Start small, and then work your way up."

"Well then, shouldn't I at least have on my costume?" Sarah tugged at her sea blue tank top to emphasize her point.

"No." Ron answered back simply as he scanned across the park. He was a man on a mission, one that demanded thinking and careful selection. For a long minute, Sarah just stood next to Ron, waiting. Finally, she heard him speak up. "There."

Sarah followed Ron's line of sight over to a nearby pond. She looked back at Ron to make sure she was looking at the right spot before doing a double take. There was nothing there. Nothing but some tiny child, probably no more than eight years old maximum, playing with a tiny plastic toy boat in the waters of the pond. The child appeared to be alone, causing Sarah to wonder whether or not his parents were nearby. Not necessary though, as Sarah remembered that little kids came over here all the time without parents. She herself had escaped here many times when she was little.

"What?"

"That boy over there." Ron indicated.

"What about him?" Sarah looked back, a sickly feeling rising within her.

"He's your test run." Ron answered back.

"What?" Sarah asked again, a look of disbelief and horror on her features.

--

Young Steven Joseph continued to bob his tiny ship up and down in the waters of the pond right in front of him, balancing himself on his feet as he sat at an awkward angle so as to put his toy on the water without falling in himself. The object of his fascination carried an imaginary crew of forty, the captain of which was trying to sail through heavy millimeter waves caused by Steven's splashing.

Steven continued to voice the sounds of waves crashing against his toy even as a set of footsteps approached from off to the side. All at once, all noise stopped as Steven looked up to see a tall, pretty brown haired girl with a blue shirt and brown cargo pants on, looking down at him.

Mindful of his mother's warning about talking to strangers, Steven hurriedly grabbed his boat, clutching it tightly to his chest as he stood upright. Standing full against the towering teenage girl in front of him, he couldn't but feel like a tiny bug trying to face down an elephant.

"Hi." Stephen spoke first, shyly as he looked up at her wide eyed, trying his best not to seem scared.

"N-nice boat." The girl managed to throat out.

Stephen looked down at his toy, clutched at his chest. Then, looking back up at the teenage girl in front of him, he held it out, offering to her as he asked in his small voice "Wanna play?"

The girl looked to pause at this, as if something were caught in her throat. Finally, she managed to voice "No thanks."

Her hands reached out, snatching the small toy from Stephen's hands faster than he could possibly react. Before he had a chance to cry out, she pushed at his chest with her spare hand, knocking him right off his feet to land hard on the grass behind him. Before he could even look up, she was gone.

--

From afar, Ron and Rufus watched the whole grizzly scene unfold. The sight, Ron wasn't too happy to admit, stirred up one or two unpleasant memories from his own childhood as a bile rose in his stomach. He pushed both back down as he looked at Sarah running back towards him at their prearranged spot under the tree.

"Huh?" Rufus seemed to ask wordlessly.

"Trust me little buddy." Ron whispered to his tiniest friend as Sarah approached.

"Ok, I got it." Sarah insisted hurriedly as she held up the small object in her hands as she walked back towards the tree where Ron stood. "Now why do we need or want a toy boat?"

"We don't." Ron took Sarah by the arm, turning her until her view was across the lake at the small, pudgy boy she had just stolen from. "I wanted you to see this."

Sarah felt her heart shrivel and her insides turn at the sight. Her stomach churned bile of its own. "I don't need to see this." She said as she tried to turn away.

Ron merely grabbed her shoulders and roughly turned her back the way he had originally intended as he hissed into her ears "Yes you do! You want to be evil; this is what evil is all about."

Sarah tried to force her eyes away, but they were drawn to the small boy as he sat up by the pond, his face fallen in defeat as he looked at the now empty waters before him. His hands moved over to his face as he began shaking and it didn't take a genius to see he was crying.

"It's just a toy." Sarah insisted angrily, still struggling within Ron's iron grip.

"He's seven. That toy is his world." Ron replied back sharply. "And you know it. You knew it when you took it from him."

Sarah's eyes scanned in closer. The boy's lower lip began to tremble as he looked ready to curl into a ball. He sat there, his arms wrapped around his legs, terrified. Small. Alone.

"He just wanted to play with his toy." Ron whispered into her ear, almost seductively. "Thought he'd have a day of sun and fun at the local park. And you took that away from him. And why?"

"Because you told me too." Sarah insisted, her face contorting in disgust as she tried to decide which of the two of them she was angrier with, even as she tugged against Ron's grip.

"No. Because you could. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. And he knows that. He'll know it for the rest of his life." Ron hissed into her ears.

The two stared at the small boy as he finally buried his face in his hands, sobbing. Sarah felt herself long to run out to him and offer him comfort, protection. Instead, she stood where she was, knowing full well that Ron had no true power to stop her.

"This is what being evil is all about, Sarah." Ron whispered to her. "It's not about the cool costumes, or the neat looking gadgets. And it's not about picking fights with people who can fight back and showing that you're better than them. It's about hurting people. Anyone and everyone you can, just because you can, and not caring about any of them."

--

The young boy continued to mourn the loss of his birthday present as he sat by the pond, unable to find the strength to move. What if she came back? What if he bumped into her as he was trying to leave? There was no place in the park that seemed safe anymore. Every one of its shadows suddenly seemed like a place for her to hide in wait and ambush him.

He felt a wet heat begin to build up around his eyes, struggling desperately to wipe it away as his lower lip began to tremble uncontrollably. He rocked back and forth where he sat, curled up in the fetal position as his breathing began to quicken and quicken. He could only imagine the shame of going home and telling his mommy that he'd lost his new toy. The disappointment on her face…

A footstep to his side caught his attention again. He looked up, gasping at the sight and trying to scramble away.

"No! It's ok." Sarah insisted desperately as she held out the small boat in her hands, offering it to him. "Here."

The boy never said a word. He simply remained frozen where he lay, looking at her uncertainly, terror still evident in his face. She decided to brave holding it out a few inches more.

Looking skeptically at her with panic sowed into every one of his features, he nonetheless reached out, taking the small toy. Clutching it tightly to his chest, he immediately scrambled to his feet, running off as fast as his tiny legs could carry him.

"I'm sorry!" She called after him, but he seemed to pay her no mind as he kept running, leaving her to feel more awful than she had ever felt in her entire life as she spoke only to herself in a soft whisper "I'm sorry."

"Bad guys don't feel sorry." An empathetic voice reached out to Sarah from behind. "They don't get to care about others and, usually, nobody cares about them either."

"Why did you make me do that?" Sarah asked, trying her best to be angry at him, as she felt an unwanted wetness streak down the side of her cheek.

"Why did you do it anyway?" Ron asked, the weak sting in her voice failing to faze him. "Cause you thought it would be fun, right? You thought it would be better to do the picking for a change. Only the grass isn't that green on this side."

Sarah didn't reply. She just wiped away a small tear beneath her right eye. For a long time she said nothing as Ron waited for her. In a few seconds, the last several years of her life flashed before her eyes, leaving her to ponder what the next several could hold for her. "So what does this make me? I'm not a super villain; apparently I'm not up for the whole eating babies. I'm not a hero either, I couldn't stand the tights."

"Also, the pay stinks." Ron added frankly.

Sarah let out a single, weak chuckle at this before turning around to Ron. "So, what do I do?"

Ron just shrugged. "Whatever you want."

She could feel everything that she had fought for so long to burry out of sight and mind begin to crawl and claw its way to the surface. Her entire escapade as Squirrel Girl seemed to culminate before her as she looked to the only person who had ever tried to offer her answers. Now, more than ever, she felt herself long for that one simple answer she had been searching for all along. "Who am I?"

"Simple." Ron smiled. "You're Sarah Kurrage. Just be that."

Sarah took a second to bring her breathing back under complete control as she mulled over the wisdom of Ron's words. She wasn't sure how helpful that had really been, but it was an answer. Taking a few more seconds to clear her face away, she looked back up at Ron. Finally she had to ask "So, how long were you going to wait before making me give that kid his boat back anyway?"

Ron let out a single chuckle. "Ten, fifteen seconds more tops." Ron let out a breath he hadn't even indicated he had been holding in. "You know, for a minute there you almost had me worried I might be wrong about you."

Sarah stood perfectly still, nodding for a second. "I want you to know, I really do feel bad about this."

"About what?"

"This." Sarah walked right up to Ron, wrapping her hands around the back of his head, pulling him close and pressing her lips to his with a passion that she felt she had been suppressing for far too long now. She knew that this was wrong, but felt she had to press on anyway. If this never happened again, she wanted to remember the feel of his lips, the heat of his breath. She wrapped herself around him with a steel grip as she felt him fight to escape, holding on tight for another second before finally releasing.

"Sarah!" Ron cried out in a gasp as he pulled himself away.

"Uh-oh."

The tiny voice of Rufus crying out caused both Sarah and Ron to look down at him before out at the sight that had caught his attention. Not ten feet from where they stood, Kim Possible looked fit to be tied as she stared down the duo embracing one another in the middle of broad daylight.

"Uh-oh." Ron agreed.


	9. Actions And Reactions

Author's Note:I owe you all an apology.

It has been far, far too long since I updated or published another chapter in any story of mine and that is inexcusable. I can offer no excuse. Only another in a long line of assurances that I will try harder to update more regularly. I want to thank all those who have reviewed in the past and supported me in my efforts. I would also like to take this time to give a special thanks to David Bell. He knows why.

Thanks again to all who have read on and reviewed. You deserve so much more than my infrequent updates and I am going to try to make sure you get it. As always, write a review and get a response. And enjoy. I hope you will.

--

They say that no one ever faced death wishing they'd spent more time at Bueno Nacho.

Well actually, no one had ever said that but as Ron Stoppable stood in the middle of a path running through Middleton Park, frozen in terror at having been caught kissing another girl by his girlfriend Kim Possible, his life suddenly flashing before his eyes, he quickly decided that he was the first.

"….uh." was all Ron could muster.

"So," Kim fumed, steaming mad "is this your idea of 'stopping the bad guy' or were you just in the process of wrestling her tongue into submission before getting to the rest of her?"

"Hey KP" Ron assumed to be his last words.

"Do not 'Hey KP' me!" Kim shot, obviously exercising enormous restraint not to shout as she shot past the frozen Sarah at Ron. "I run up and down Middleton thinking you might be in trouble. Worried," Kim couldn't restrain the irony at her own choice of words "that my boyfriend is in danger or needs help and guess what?"

"What?" Ron knew guessing was a mistake the moment he said it.

"I find you making out with another girl. Again!" Kim shouted. She didn't care if anybody else heard her at this point.

"Now…" Ron paused, hoping his brain would conjure up some excuse that might save his life. "…I know this looks bad."

"Ho boy." Rufus' tiny paw slapped his head.

"Oh no!" Kim mocked, growing all the madder. "I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for why my boyfriend is kissing another girl."

"Again" Ron reminded, really wishing his mouth would listen to his brain and keep shut.

"Again!" Kim reiterated furiously. "So please, explain to me what the reason is this time?"

"Me." Sarah declared boldly yet apologetically as she stepped directly between Kim and Ron. "It was all me."

"Sarah, it's ok." Ron tried to gently push her out of the way.

"You stay out of this!" Kim would deal with Sarah and how. But for now, she had no patience as she tried to shove her aside.

"It was all me." Sarah insisted, remaining steadfast in the face of Kim's ire. "You want to kick my butt for kissing your man, fine." At this, her tone softened as she offered sincerely "But don't throw away something like him over someone like me."

This seemed to bring a silence to the bickering and everything went still. For a moment, Kim looked at Ron, who could only seem to shrug helplessly. But the moment quickly passed as Kim felt her anger returning.

"You and I will settle this later." Kim warned Ron in no uncertainty before turning to Sarah. "As for you," Kim grabbed her by the arm, dragging her, "you can explain everything to the police."

"Hey!" Sarah pulled away from Kim's grip defiantly, any traces of sympathy or remorse quickly vanishing from her voice.

"Ok, ok." Ron hurried to place himself between the ladies. "I'm sure there's no need for that. Right? We're all friends here." Ron let out a nervous, unconvincing laugh. "I'm sure Sarah is more than willing to turn herself in…"

"No I'm not!" Sarah insisted, somehow answering back at Kim instead of Ron.

Ron tried to wipe away the perspiration gathering at his forehead as he explained "Ah, what she means is…"

"Here are her choices." Kim stated flatly in the same confrontational tone, eyeing Sarah completely; both girls seemingly ignoring Ron altogether. "She can walk. Or she can be carried."

"Or, as a third option…" Ron offered

"Carried?! Ha." Sarah bit back with the same venomous tone as Kim. "How are you going to carry me with those spaghetti strings you call arms?"

"Oh no." Ron was seeing his life flashing before his eyes again.

Kim burned red to match her hair. "I'm a professional babysitter. I'm used to taking spoiled little brats and spanking them."

Rufus shivered in terrified anticipation before ducking back down into Ron's pocket.

"Skinny little bimbo!"

"Two bit hussie!"

"Our father who art in heaven…" Ron recited.

"Witch!"

"Tramp!"

A cat shrieked as the two tackled each other to the ground. Leaping back up to their feet in perfect synchronization, the two girls launched themselves into a fury of acrobatic and martial maneuvers. Back and forth the two punched, kicked, blocked, and leapt, one after another after another.

"Wait!" Ron called as the battle seemed to move past him. "We can talk about this!" He chased after as the two seemed to move in the opposite direction. "This is not a productive discourse!" Again, the battle shifted course, further away from him, forcing him to continue his chase after them. "Will you at least stand still!?"

Neither of the girls seemed to hear him. Instead, they continued to dance around one another, moving at all but blinding speeds.

Ron just sighed. It was obvious that they couldn't hear him.

"I don't get it Rufus."

"Huh?" His tiny pink head popped out of Ron's pocket.

"Why can't girls be more like guys?" He asked as he gestured to the battling female furies in front of him. "You know, why can't they just settle their differences over a naco and some soda?"

"Iunno." Rufus just shrugged.

At this, the battle seemed to break however briefly as the two leapt away from one another, each landing with flawless grace and power, eyeing the other intently.

"Don't tell me you're winded already?" Sarah smirked.

"Just letting you catch your breath before I take the training wheels off." Kim grinned savagely. "Or was I supposed to be trying just now?"

"Wait! Wait!" Ron called out as he ran towards the two. "This seems like a good place to stop."

"Just try not to run and cry to your mommy after I rub your face in the dirt."

"Time out! Truce!" Ron insisted desperately as he kept his pace.

"Like I'm the one crying over their mommy." Kim smirked.

"No. Stop!"

But Ron's words were lost. Something primal in both girls reared its ugly head and roared as the two launched themselves right at each other. Running full force, the two leapt into the air, legs outstretched…only to collide with both sides of Ron's head.

"Ron!" The two cried out as they landed with horrified expressions across their faces.

"We are the Wannaweep Weepers." Ron sang dizzily as the world began to spin and go dark around him. He crumbled to the ground beneath him, passing out before he ever touched the asphalt.

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"I am coming, I am coming." An angry Dr. Dementor insisted as he marched heftily through the corridors of his lair, toward the incessant ringing and into his video conference room. He arrived just in time to hear the ringing of his phone silenced by the sound of the answering machine.

"Zhis is Dr. Dementor. I am smarter than you. Leave your meaningless message and I vill call you back in the unlikely instance that it is worthy of my time."

Dr. Dementor let out a satisfied grunt at his answering machine as he listened to the message being left for him.

"Dementor! It is Gemini. I know you're there. Answer the blasted phone."

The mad doctor let out an exhausted sigh as he pressed a button on the control pad before him. "Yes Gemini. Vhat is it?"

"Dementor!" The irritated voice of the head of the World Wide Evil Empire shouted as his image appeared clearly on the large screen monitor. "I told you, do not screen my calls."

"And I have told you," Dementor replied with an indignant tone "if you do not appear on the Caller ID, I vill not just answer zhe phone. You might be one of zhose horrible telemarketers."

"Blast it Dementor!" Gemini fumed. "I'm not going to show on caller ID. I'm trying to take over the world! Now listen to me, I have something very im-" But the voice was cut off as the image disappeared from the screen in front of Dementor.

"Huh?" The diminutive mad scientist looked up in confusion.

_"We are sorry." _A woman's prerecorded voice came on. _"The minutes you have purchased on this phone have expired."_

"Ah blast!" Dementor's palm slapped against his face "I am always forgetting to recharge the minutes after I call momma."

_"To purchase more minutes, please stay on the line."_

"Yes, yes, yes." Dementor nodded his head, emphasizing to the machine to hurry up.

_"If you wish to hear about our silver phone plan, please press one."_

"No." Dementor replied.

_"If you wish to hear about our gold phone plan, please press two."_

"I zaid no."

_"If you wish to hear about our platinum phone plan, please press three."_

"I do not wish to hear about any of ze plans!!" Dementor announced angrily.

_"To hear this recording in any of a list of European languages, please press four."_

"Just let me recharge my minutes." The mad doctor insisted.

_"To hear this recording in unconfirmed Pig Latin, please press five."_

"I don't want the Latin of pigs!!"

_"If you know the name of the US President whose administration you were born during, please enter it now."_

"What-why does that matter?" Dementor looked perplexed.

*three hours later*

_"If you are calling from an altitude that is below sea level, please press phi."_

"ZHERE IS NO PHI ON A PHONE YOU WRETCHED MACHINE LADY!!" Dementor screamed into the receiver as he clutched it furiously, his body tangled in phone cord.

_"To recharge your minutes, please enter your credit card information."_

Desperate to escape from this nightmare, Dementor frantically entered his information.

_"Thank you. Your call is being reconnected."_

Dementor let out an exacerbated sigh just as the image of Gemini reappeared on the screen.

"Dementor, what just happened?" The director of WWEE looked furious. "I've been trying to reach you for hours."

"I had to recharge my minutes." Dementor explained dismissively as he untangled himself from the phone cord.

"What? Why don't you just get a plan?" Gemini asked obviously.

"Of course not. Zhat's just a scam!"

"Listen to me Dementor; I have a proposition for you."

"For the last time, I am not interested in vorking for you Gemini." Dementor insisted tiredly. It has been a trying day for him and the last thing he needed right now was another sales pitch from the would-be dictator with sister-issues.

"Oh, I think you'll change your mind this time. You see I have something I think you want. Or rather, I will have it."

"You have nothing I want." Dementor insisted flatly. "Now go away. It is time for me to feed ze wiener dogs."

"Oh, poor Dementor." Gemini mocked at the image of the mad scientist walking away. "Not getting out much ever since your Automaggedon was trashed, are you?"

At this, Dementor froze in his tracks.

"Rather embarrassing wasn't that?" Gemini raised his eyebrow at this, obviously enjoying himself. "I bet you'd just kill to get your hands on that worthless squirrel brat that humiliated you."

Dementor took great pains to compose himself, holding in a dam's worth of outraged quips and less than colorful words, releasing only a short, quick breath through the nostrils before turning. "And I assume then zhat you have something that will ensure my revenge?"

"Oh yes." Gemini smiled darkly.

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"I..ah…no." Ron Stoppable shook his head ever so slightly back and forth, continuing to mutter to himself. Crouched down beside him beneath a tree that they had carried him too, Kim Possible and Sarah Currage continued to try and wake him as they had for the past several hours.

"Ah meat cakes!" Ron cried out as his eyes opened, snapping back into the world of the awake.

"The garden gnome nightmare again?" Kim asked knowingly as she looked down with relief at Ron's slightly bruised face.

"They're coming KP." Ron assured gravely. "With the monkeys. They'll get us all."

This drew an amused girlish laugh from Sarah who smiled widely down at Ron. Ron may have been too dazed noticed but Kim saw all too clearly the way she continued to blink her eyes at him and it caused the furnace within Kim to begin burning once again.

Ignoring it, Kim quickly helped Ron to his feet, making a point to stand him before Sarah could even put her hands on him.

"Are you ok, blondie?" Sarah asked, noting the wobbly feet that Ron tried to stand on.

"Oh sure." Ron replied unconvincingly. Demonstrating his coordination and balance, Ron took a few steps backwards and forwards. "See. No problem." A brief pause. "No wait I lied."

Ron fell forward, only to be caught within Sarah's arms as he came to rest against her.

_You have three seconds to take your hands off of him or I'll-_

"KP." Ron called, interrupting Kim from her raging musings.

"Yes-what?" Kim blurted out in the same breath.

"I was thinking, for my own safety, that we should all maybe call a truce." Ron declared a little woozily as he stood back up under his own power. "Why don't we take Sarah home, and then she and her mother can decide what to do next."

The two girls suddenly turned to stare at each other, as if each waiting for the other to give first.

"I'm… ok with that." Sarah relented in Ron's presence.

"Yeah. Sure. That sounds fair." Kim gave in next.

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The three rode in silence within Kim's car, Ron riding shotgun with Sarah in the back, alone, and Kim casting distrusting glances back at her every few seconds.

_If you don't stop flipping your hair for him to notice I am going to yank it out and…_

"Hey KP." Ron tried to whisper.

"What Ron?" Kim bit back harshly. She saw him shrivel back into his seat and for just a moment, regretted her anger. But she then looked into her rearview mirror at Sarah, offering a sorrowful and comforting face to the back of Ron's head, and felt her anger stir again.

"I, I was just wondering if we could turn on the radio." Ron offered emptily.

"We don't need to. We're almost there." Kim insisted.

It was another five minutes of maddening silence before the three in fact pulled into the right street. As Kim brought her car into park and turned the keys to the ignition, there was more silence. Only without the sound of the engine running it was even more uncomfortable.

Ron knew he probably wasn't supposed to, but he couldn't help it as he turned to look back at Sarah. Seeing a confused, frightened and apologetic expression on her face all at once, Ron just offered her a reassuring smile. "You're mom's probably worried sick about you."

"Could…" Sarah didn't know how to say it and looked back at Kim, afraid of saying the wrong thing. "Would you walk me in?"

Ron looked back at Kim whose gaze was steely fixed at nothing in front of her.

"Yeah." Ron promised with a confidence he wasn't really feeling. Never the less, he unbuckled his seatbelt and followed Sarah out of the car and up her front lawn.

"Ron, wait." Kim called as she undid her seatbelt and chased after him.

Ron turned to at this, and upon seeing Kim walking towards him, indicated to Sarah to stay where she was.

"Look," Kim admitted uncomfortably as she stood before him. Finally, she was able to force out "I'm really sorry about dropkicking you earlier."

Ron just chuckled at this. "Well I suppose if that's what I get for kissing another girl, I got off light."

Even this was able to crack the cold ice around Kim, causing her to return his warm smile. But as soon as she saw relief wash over his face, she felt herself grow cold again. "Don't think this means you are off the hook though."

She watched Ron's face fall and almost stopped herself right then and there. But she felt the need to go on anyway.

"I am still mad at you. For kissing another girl. Again." Kim crossed her arms, feeling her righteous rage return. "And for not calling, and for running around town, leaving me worried sick." Kim felt her justification growing and let slip "You know, sometimes I don't know why I put up with you as much as I do."

It was this that caused Ron to cast a curious glance at her. He suddenly became very inquisitive, his eyes probing hers as if for the answers she sought. Finally, he answered her in total understanding: "Because you love me."

"What?" Kim was caught off guard by this. "Ron, of course I l-"

"No, no." Ron stopped her, a sense of awe and joy growing within him as he realized aloud "You do. You really love me."

"Ron, I know that." Kim explained sincerely.

"But I don't think I did." Ron realized as it all hit him at once like a ton of bricks. "I mean I know you've said it, and we've been dating for a while but I never got it because…well I mean come on. I'm not that great looking."

"Ron." She groaned. Not this again.

"I'm terrified of monkeys. I think my mom's lawn ornaments are out to get me. I gave one of our worst enemies the idea to become a super villain in the first place. I accidently got you stuck in detention because I forgot to return a book to the library. You saw me kissing another girl."

"Twice." Kim reminded icily.

"And even after all that…" He grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her in close until they were face to face; his eyes scanning hers until there was no doubt left in his mind or heart. "You still love me."

Kim was speechless. She had no idea what Ron was talking about. All she could let out was a confused "What?"

In response Ron pulled her lips into his with all the longing he had in the world. The taste of her filled an emptiness within him he hadn't even been aware of until this moment as he held onto her with everything he had.

Kim felt herself swept up in the moment. All her anger, frustration, confusion, all thoughts about moments past and yet to come lost for a single instant. Her eyes closed as she felt herself melt in his grasp. She never fought it. She just kissed him back as naturally as could be.

When the two finally, finally parted, Ron's face was the picture of jubilance.

"Breakthrough!" Ron cried, throwing his hands up into the air as he ran towards the Currage house hold in triumph, announcing for all the world to hear "She loves me."

Kim could only hear the words, but lacked the capacity to react to them.

"What just happened?" Kim asked as she stood completely still, all her anger seemingly gone, leaving her very confused. She remained that way for several moments longer before finally coming to grips with herself. Left with nothing else to do, she decided to walk up the front lawn towards the Currage house hold.

"Mom. Mom!" Inside, a frantic Sarah darted back and forth, calling out.

"Sarah, take it easy." Ron tried to calm her. "I'm sure she just went out."

"Her car's in the drive way." Sarah insisted frantically without ever once looking back at Ron. "Where would she go if her car's still here?"

"What's wrong?" Kim asked, bringing herself out of her daze.

"The front door was open and my mom's not here." Sarah answered as she ran upstairs, calling out for her mother.

"I'm going to go after her." Ron explained to Kim without waiting for approval or acknowledgement as he chased up the stairs behind her.

Kim sighed as she cast a worried look around the house. There didn't appear to be any signs of a break in or any sort of struggle. For a moment, Kim's mind rationalized that Karen Currage had simply gone to a neighbor's house and left the front door open in case Sarah had returned.

Unfortunately it was then that Kim noticed a tape sitting out on a coffee table in the living room. It would have been very easy to believe it had simply been left out except for the obvious yellow sticky note that addressed the tape to 'Squirrel Girl.'

Without waiting for Ron or Sarah, Kim braved placing the tape in the home entertainment system in the living room. Turning it on, she watched the image of an unpleasantly familiar face appear on the screen before her.

"Hello Squirrel Girl." The image of Gemini appeared on the television screen in front of her. "Or would you prefer Sarah? It seems that you have been very busy lately and made quite a mess for yourself. And now," the taller man declared rather proudly "it is time for you to answer for yourself. You will come to the address on the back of the note attached to this tape by five thirty tonight. Come alone. And if you don't…" At this, the camera seemed to pan to show a bound and gagged Karen Currage held in place by two oversized WWEE henchmen in full uniform. The tape ended on this ominous note.

Kim was about to call out to Ron and Sarah, only to turn and find the pair both behind her, staring in horrified shock at the screen.

"Mom?" Sarah let out in a frightened whisper.


	10. Oath Bound

Ron checked the time on his watch. Not yet four thirty. Time was running out. Yet he knew that trying to hurry now would only make things worse. So he took slow, steady steps as he made his way towards Sarah s bedroom door.

Held up in there now for the past twenty minutes, neither Kim nor Ron had been willing to disturb her after she had broken down and run upstairs for sanctuary. Ron thought he had heard the occasional sob as he waited down the hallway and wanted nothing so much as to just rush in and assure her. But all that had gotten was the door slammed shut before opening a full inch. He was sure there was no other way short of force to get in there, and another show down between Sarah and Kim was the last thing that was needed right now.

Ron finally dared to try again. A few gentle taps to the door as he called out Sarah?

The soft sobbing seemed to stop.

It s Ron. Can are you going to kick my head off if I open the door?

Ooh. Rufus winced at Ron s somewhat insensitive choice of wording. Ron felt himself blush and burn at himself until he heard the door latch click open just a hair.

Deciding to dare on, Ron eased the door open to find the room otherwise unlit, the curtains all drawn and all other light sources blotted out. A single O-Boyz poster decorated the wall immediately to his right, complimenting a bookshelf adorned instead with several trophies, mostly cheerleading from the looks of it. He thought he recognized the sash decorated by various sewn merit badges resting over her desk chair with a very modern computer on the desk itself. The room was otherwise very neat but not freakishly so, no clothes or books cluttering the floor leading to the bed where Sarah sat Indian style, clutching tightly what appeared to be a Flamingoat within her right arm while she seemed to pinch or pick at her lip absent mindedly.

Sarah? Ron waited for a response, but Sarah just seemed to stare down at nothing in particular. Ron decided to venture on towards her bedside, sitting down gently next to her.

Heh. He laughed anxiously, attempting to lighten the mood. I always wondered what the inside of another girl s bedroom looked like. There s less pink than I was expecting.

At this, a soft smile graced Sarah s lips for a second, reassuring Ron somewhat. But this did not remain for long.

This isn t your fault. Ron tried to assure her in his most comforting tone.

Yes it is. Sarah finally looked over at him, desperately. This is all my fault. My mom s in trouble and I Sarah s eyes began to water and she paused for a moment to wipe them dry.

You couldn t know that this was going to happen. Ron insisted.

The last thing I said to my mother was that I thought she was weak. Sarah felt a wet heat slide down the side of her cheek, but did nothing to try and clear it.

Ron tried to shrug it off consolingly in the face of her tears. Well, mothers can surprise you. You d never guess at the things they re willing to forgive. He said softly.

I don t deserve it. Sarah insisted as she clutched all the more tightly to her Flamingoat for strength.

Yeah, Ron said somewhat nostalgically. That s another amazing thing about them.

You know the thing is, Sarah just shook her head at the thought the whole reason for all of this was so that I could be Sarah tried to find the words for it before turning to Ron well, like you.

Me? Ron s voice rose in disbelief.

Yeah. You know, cool.

You think I m cool? Ron s jaw nearly dropped.

Yeah. Sarah replied obviously. Come on, you go out, fight the big bads, bust their heads in, and then walk up to them like it don t even phase you.

Well I Ron was about to correct her when the more bigheaded part of him answered somewhat modestly I don t usually like to brag about it.

Rufus gave a slight growl at this that went unnoticed.

I mean you tore through a whole room full of super villains and didn t even flinch. And then I show up on your front door ready to raise more hell and you just have me in for lunch. Nothing gets you down and I I wanted to be like that. Sarah s voice fell back a bit at this. Someone that never gets knocked down. And I just exploded. Sarah explained somewhat cryptically.

In that instant, Ron understood. All the pieces of the puzzle had come together. Yeah. You know sometimes, life just wants to knock you off your feet. And no matter how many times you get up, it knocks you back down, until finally it seems like all you can do is either stay down or Ron tried to find the right word before conceding, explode.

Sarah straightened up where she sat, finally looking Ron directly in the eye for the first time since he had come into her room. So what did you do?

Ron didn t need to think twice. He just shrugged I had someone help me to my feet. Just like you do.

Sarah s heart melted on the spot as she looked at Ron. Somehow, the threat of another throw down with Red wasn t nearly enough to detract her as she reached forward, throwing her arms around Ron and grabbing him tightly.

At first, Ron froze, unsure of the proper manner on how to react. So he did the only thing he had been able to do since this whole affair began and just winged it, putting one arm carefully around her in a comforting manner.

Relax, Ron said casually this is totally standard super hero stuff. We find the bad guys, kick their butts, save your mom, and hopefully go out for ice cream to celebrate our super heroics.

Mmmhmm. Rufus licked his lips eagerly from his spot within Ron s pocket.

This caused a chuckle to escape Sarah s perpetual haze of gloom. Thank you. She whispered softly into Ron s ear.

Forget it. Ron dismissed good naturedly as he pulled away from Sarah. Besides, Pixies stick together, right KP?

Sarah was startled as she turned about to see Red standing ominously in her doorway, her silhouette outlined by the light in the hallway in contrast to the shadows of the room.

First, Kim began we are strictly observing Barkin levels of PDA between you two until this is over. From the tone of her voice, both correctly guessed that Kim was tweaked. And second, she is so not a Pi...

But before Kim could finish, Ron casually pointed over to Sarah s desk chair where her Pixie Scout sash hung, proudly adorned in assorted merit badges.

This caused the two girls to look at one another in mutual disbelief.

You too? Sarah was the first to vocalize their shared incredulity.

Sorry KP. Can t abandon the Pixie oath now. Ron just shrugged as if he were helpless in the matter.

So, what s the plan? Sarah asked.

You stay here. Kim pointed at Sarah. She then pointed over to Ron. We ll get your mother and bring her back here.

As if! Sarah shot up to her feet and off her bed at this. I m going with you.

Too dangerous. Kim insisted.

Please, I can chuck losers twice my size just as easily as you can. Sarah asserted proudly with all the tone of a formal challenge.

Ron and I have more experience at this than you do. Kim stated flatly. You re benched while we handle this.

Technically, Ron wished he d listen to the voice in his head telling him to stay out of this my experience has more been with the distracting than the chucking. Also with the running.

See? Sarah said hopefully. You ll need me help.

Not a chance. Kim was about to turn about as if the matter had been settled when Sarah rushed in front of her, putting her arm out, blocking Kim s path.

This is my mom and this is my fault. Tell me you d stay out of it if it were your mom.

For a moment, there was silence as Kim and Sarah attempted to stare each other down, waiting to see who would back off first.

Fine. Kim relented. Then I guess we need a plan.

Well, I ve got an idea. Ron admitted out loud, drawing surprised looks from everyone. What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?

Hello? Sarah called out into the large, dark room. Having followed the directions on the tape to the letter, she now found herself abandoned warehouse, dressed in her Squirrel Girl costume with full mask and all. Evil villains in clich hide out, are you there?

She waited a second longer for a response. It didn t take long.

The lights came on, revealing the room to be nearly twice the size she had guessed. A long walk way running around the entire room thirty feet off the ground showed three henchman with trained turrets locked on her, one to her left, one to her right and one dead ahead. In the center of the room, two gentlemen in distinct costumes awaited her. One wore a straightforward purple uniform with a noticeable metallic glove (or was it a hand, she couldn t quite tell at this distance) and dark hair sporting an instantly noticeable eye patch. The other wore a crimson uniform and had noticeable yellow skin, which Sarah recognized from the convention. Behind them was a small army of henchmen dressed in a starker red color that covered most of their persons and right in the middle of their midst, Sarah saw her mother bound and gagged.

Why Ms. Currage. Gemini exclaimed with a sinister delight. What a pleasant surprise.

How are you surprised I m here? You told me to come here.

I know that. Gemini fumed at the insolence. I was being facetious.

Why? Who does that help?

Now you listen to me you little but before he could continue his frustration, a hand to his shoulder caught his attention.

Aha, young Squirrel Girl. You must forgive my comrade. He iz quite uzed, I believe, to doing battle with his twin sister. I, on zhe other hand, am quite familiar with the insolence of young teenagers. Dementor snapped his fingers and Karen Currage was pushed into his grip where he trained a weapon upon her. And let me assure you, I vill not suffer another moment of it.

Ok, ok! Sarah threw up her hands at this.

Excellent Gemini smiled, quite satisfied. Gentlemen, would you please restrain the young lady.

Karen Currage let out a muffled scream of protest even as several henchmen approached her daughter with thick, dual bar manacles, which they used to secure her hands behind her back.

You know, you guys must be real bad dudes to pick on a single mother and her daughter. Sarah spat at everyone in the room. I bet in your spare time, you like to steal candy and toys from small children.

Ach, heavens no. Dementor spat in disgust.

Oh indeed. The screaming, the whining. Gemini agreed. I mean sure, once and a while for cheap laughs or if there s really nothing else on TV.

Or occasionally to reinforce my status as zhe superior super villain. Dementor added. Now, you vill be coming with us.

You said you d let my mother go. Sarah looked at them both sternly.

And we will. Gemini insisted smugly. Unless of course Hench wants a matching set.

He ll have to settle for a commemorative card. From somewhere on high, no one really knew where, Kim Possible leapt out in full battle suit, somehow knocking aside all henchmen around Sarah in a single attack.

Kim Possible!

Present and presentable. Kim smiled.

I vould not be too eager Miss Possible. Or have you forgotten zhat ve have ze hostage?" Dementor pointed to behind him where Karen Currage was standing, oblivious to the brown figure that dropped from the ceiling on a supporting line, scooping her up and then rising back up into the air.

Booyah!

Both villains went wide-eyed before turning around. Upon seeing a hoard of clueless henchmen and no hostage, they looked up.

Spankin save blondie! Sarah called up.

The sidekick. Gemini hissed.

And vhat in zhe name of inzanity iz he wearing?

Karen Currage, having only now been able to spit her gag out, could not help the bewilderment that came from her mouth as she asked, Is that the Fearless Ferret suit? Tim?

Nah, it s just me. Ron Stoppable smiled through his mask. I had a super suit but I had to loan it to a friend.

What friend?

Me. Sarah smiled, as she broke loose of the manacles holding her hand. The camouflage feature on the suit that Ron had given her activated, changing the color scheme of her costume to a sleek, dark version of the original Squirrel Girl costume.

Whoa. Even Kim had to admit, as costume designs went, this one was much sleeker than the original she had first seen Sarah wearing.

Sarah never heard the comment. She felt the suit s power coursing through her. This new costume fit her perfectly and for the first time in her life, Sarah Currage felt right.

I have already suffered enough teenage insolence to last me a lifetime. Gemini clearly did not share the wonder of this moment. Get them! And someone recapture our hostage.

On the ground, the hoard of henchmen rushed Kim and Sarah.

Think you can keep up, Red?

I ll slow down if I get too far ahead of you.

And with that, there was no more interest in small talk as the two took off like dual racers in a competition.

From on high, the Fearless Ferret swung through the rafters as best he could with his passenger in tow. Fortunately only a single henchman with a turret was targeting after him while the other two focused on the young ladies below. Unfortunately, he was proving himself an exceptionally good marksman.

Ron fiddled with his line as he struggled to hold on to Karen. He could see Rufus as Wonder Weasel trying to chew through her ropes, though he suddenly worried that that might end up being a mixed blessing as she could only flail so much, bound as she currently was, which admittedly was making it easier to carry her.

A well-aimed shot knocked Ron from his perch. He was able to lower Karen onto the rafters safely, but there was nothing for him to hold onto anymore as he fell, caught by his line.

Dangling helplessly in the middle of the room, Ron looked up to see the henchman re-taking his aim, locking his sights squarely on the Fearless Ferret.

Wonder Weasel! Even from so far, Ron recognized Rufus petite frame as it latched onto the enemy s face. As he looked up to see Karen having freed herself, he correctly guessed that she had given Rufus the assist.

It s in my hair! It s in my hair, it s in my hair! The hired goon may have screamed like a little girl, but he still had little patience for such an obvious distraction. Grabbing at his face, he managed to catch the tiny rodent in his hand before throwing it aside. Turning back on the Fearless Ferret, he readied his weapon and aimed again.

What would the Fearless Ferret do? Oh yeah! Answering his own question silently, he grabbed his trademark grapple gun. Taking the only moment he had, Ron leveled and fired, the grapple latching itself perfectly onto the tip of the turret. Ron pulled hard just as the henchman fired, the blast shooting the walkway out from beneath him and causing him to fall to the ground.

Despite what one may see in movies, it is not that easy to knock out a grown man. Men beaten with clubs or other hard objects have retained consciousness even after being knocked to the ground. In football, some of the largest men ever to walk the earth have been tackled and slammed into by men three times their size and walked it off afterwards. Even professional boxers can attest to the difficulty involved in the act of rendering an adult male unconscious.

Of course, neither Kim nor Sarah could.

Instead, the two turned what should have been an epic battle for their very lives into a mix of one part race, one part workout, and one final part acrobatic competition, with one of them launching into a maneuver or attack and the other finishing what the first would begin.

Is this what you and blondie do all day? Sarah spun in the air, knocking a combatant to the ground. As she landed, she spun around into a perfect uppercut, knocking another one to the ground.

Don t get cocky. Kim dropkicked an attacker to Sarah s exposed flank. Landing on his chest, she perfectly transferred her weight into a perfect flip, grabbing the shoulders of the assailant behind and then, landing behind him, tossing him like a rag doll. Learn to walk before you run.

Actually, Sarah rolled to her feet, knocking the feet out from another a henchman sneaking up on Kim. I learned to run before I walked.

Yeah. Kim came up with a head butt, knocking an enemy out cold. Me too.

Alright ladies. Gemini drew attention to himself and Dementor sporting a strange looking device, almost like a keypad for a computer, in his hand that neither Sarah nor Kim had noticed before. I am, of course, extremely impressed. But I am afraid that I am going to insist that you both stop right where you are.

Oh really. Kim eyed even as she rubbed her hands together eagerly. Over confident much?

It s not a question of confidence. Gemini nodded to Dementor who began working his control. I said I insist.

As Dementor pressed the controls on his pad, both Kim and Sarah felt their suits lock up.

Ah yesss. Dementor gloated. You are no doubt wondering Squirrel Girl why I was invited to participate in zhis endeavor. You see, Kim Possible s interference was quite predicted, as vas the use of her superzuit. Which is vhy I brought along the remote I once used to control her battlezuit, and which I am quite pleased to zay, is working on your battlezuit as well!

Both struggled to no avail as they felt the suits lock up tighter than solid metal where before those very same suits had been as light as regular clothing.

Ah yes. It is working. All your battlesuits are belonging to me! Dementor gloated as he and Gemini burst out in thunderous villainous laughter. 


End file.
